Invisible Killer
by Acia Granger
Summary: Sequel to Stolen Heart. There is a story. A legend. A myth. A monster. Tearing the world to pieces. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock has a dream of a quiet life with his family. He's finally gained it. But then the monster rises up. And Berk is running out of time. Can Hiccup and the gang save the day yet again? Or will they fall prey to the mystery that haunts bedtime stories?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update- I know I said this would be up on Saturday but stuffs just got in the way…mainly my laziness;) Anyways you lot ready for a new adventure? This Fanfic is a lot less gruesome than the others so you won't have to worry for that. I'm still going to rate it a T though for the slight parts of violence and fluff!;)**

 **I don't really have much to say… Oh yes! This story was inspired by a guy called Fish- he's an AWESOME guy! I was blabbering away about my fanfictions on my DofE- if you don't know what that is just look it up on Google;)- expedition and he just gave me this idea about something (I won't tell you what yet as that would be spoiling it;) and here it is!:D**

 **Oh and I apologise in advance about all the POV changes. I hadn't meant for it to be so jumpy but it just ended up turning out that way. The next chapters shouldn't be as bad:)**

Chapter 1- Bundle Of Joy

Gobber's POV:

I sighed in satisfaction as I hung up the, now shining silver, newly sharpened sword on the wall. Perfect. My eyes wandered around my forge. An array of shining weapons hung neatly from hooks so clean I could see my own reflection grinning back at me. Hiccup was right. Cleaning, polishing and sharpening all the swords in the room really _did_ make it look better. Well, I thought sneakily, he'd managed to trick me into cleaning my forge but he would never ever be able to trick me into cleaning myself. Vikings DON'T wash. And that will never change.

I didn't notice the increasing smell of smoke behind me. I didn't even acknowledge the soft and small footsteps padding across the ground. I didn't even hear the slight squeak- like gasp or the tiny clatter.

I continued my polishing of already polished swords until I heard a slight crackle of sparks. I frowned and turned round. Only to be facing a wall of bright red flames. With a gruff- like yelp I stumbled backwards. Bright, hot red flames licked their way up the walls and into the ceiling. I rushed over to the water pipe that hung from the ceiling. Spluttering and coughing as I went. I stretched out my hand to grasp the lever and put out the roaring flames that were creeping up the rafters.

Then I heard the creak.

My fingers tickled the lever. Then I heard a groan. Wide-eyed, I turned toward the sound. The beam above me shuddered for a moment. I coughed again and desperately tried to grasp the lever. The beam was going to fall down. On top of me. I heard a whimper. Panicked I turned towards the howling beam once again. It cracked and started to splinter. I swivelled back toward the lever; my hand was just about to close around the handle when…

CREAK.

Then everything went black.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucinda's POV:

Lucinda Haddock had never meant to wander into Gobber's forge. She didn't know what the golden scarlet substance that danced before her eyes was. All she knew was that it came out of all the dragons' mouths, was very hot and that she should never touch it. But she was curious. _Mummy and Daddy will just be overprotective_. How much harm can these amber 'flames' be if they come out of such gentle creatures like Toothless? Gobber had his back turned to the little miracle as she tiptoed into the shop, brushing her red, frizzy locks from her face, and seemed to be admiring something. Whatever it was she didn't care. Her bright green eyes were locked on something much more interesting than Gobber's backside.

A large smouldering fire rose up before her in a huge cocoon of stone. She gasped in wonder. What did this stuff feel like? A silver tool was lying in the pool of light. The end had turned an sapphire, orange glow from the leaping flames. She reached out her tiny little fingers to touch it, tripped over something and…

CRASH!

With a squeak Little Lucy turned to Gobber. But he hadn't noticed anything. She sighed with relief but on turning round she saw what the crash had caused. She'd tripped over a rope, which was attached to the bricks on round the fire, and had pulled the wall free. The scalding flames seized their opportunity and started to lick their way across the walls. With a gasp she raced from the shop and ran, as fast as her little legs could carry her, to the great hall. Where she knew she'd find daddy.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV:

I was slumped in my chair in another one of those boring farm meetings. The farmers were doing what they did every single week. Arguing. Later they would say they had been civilised in there debate over who owned what and who's animals could go where etcetera. I shook my head at that thought and sighed.

"But if you own that land how come my sheep have lived there for the past ten years!" Not- so- silent- Sven- anymore thundered.

"You've been breaking the law that's how! That land's been mine since the day my Great Grandfather laid siege to it!" Mulch yelled.

"Then how come you haven't mentioned it before hey?!"

"Because I never thought you considered it as yours!"

"That's no excuse!"

"Okay okay okay! Calm down." I shouted, a little breathlessly- just listening to them was hard enough work. The other farmers and Vikings on the council sighed with relief at the sound of my voice.

"Mulch do you have a record of your fathers-" I started but was instantly cut off by the booming of the doors and the frantic sound of my three year old's voice squeaking through the hall.

"Daddy, daddy! Need! Gobber! Flames! Didn't mean!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Slow down there Missy." I say, crouching down as she approaches me so I'm eye level with her and holding her shoulders to steady her. "What happened?"

She takes a deep breath as if about to deliver a death warrant. "Gobber's forge is on fire and he's stuck inside!"

My eyes widen. Gobber- stuck inside. Fire: But how…? I leap instantly to my feet, ignoring my questioning thoughts. I didn't have time to think. "Everyone grab their dragons and try to put out the fire. Horst, go and grab a team and start pulling buckets of water from the well. We have to get him out!"

They instantly oblige and I turn to Lucy. "Stay here. Promise me Lucy that you will stay right here and wait for me." She gulps and nods her tiny head. I feel a flash of guilt as I look at the terrified expression on her face but I push it down. I can't think about Lucy. Only about Gobber, right now.

Sliding expertly onto Toothless I bound down to the forge. Vikings from the square are already throwing buckets onto the smouldering building. No sign of Gobber. I spot Astrid's own golden flames in the crowd and rush up to her.

"Hiccup! Thank Thor! Where's Lucy!?" Her voice is full of panic as she looks at the tower of smoke and flames twisting into the air above the forge.

"She's up at the Great Hall. Stay with her there and I'll be up as soon as I can." I say giving her a split second kiss on the cheek.

With that I rush into the sky. The golden sun shines down on us only making the flames shine brighter. The wind wipes through my auburn waves and I grasp a bucket from the ground, scoop up some water from the well, and toss the sparkling droplets onto the golden mountain.

It takes what seems like hours to throw the fire out but it could only have been minutes. I land softly and rush into the hot building. The crowd outside making noise that sounded like thunder to my ears. My eyes instantly draw themselves to Gobber's form. Crushed under the still sizzling beams. I rush over, signalling to Toothless to push the beam away. We a growl he tosses it to one side leaving the path to Gobber free. I barely flinch when another worrying creak sounds overhead.

"Gobber?" I start. Toothless licks his face and whines. "Toothless? Is he okay? Gobber can you hear me?"

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Is he…?" Horst asks his voice full of emotion.

"No. He won't. He can't have…"

For a moment I'm filled with horror at a world without Gobber. It isn't possible, Gobber wouldn't leave me. Would he?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

Stormfly lands gracefully at the doors to the great hall. I rush inside, my feet pounding on the stone- sending jolts through my system.

Throwing open the doors I sigh in relief as I take in the sight of a tiny little girl, freckles littering her cheeks. It's only when I get closer to her that I realise she's crying- tears running down her face like a waterfall.

"Oh Lucy," I mumble taking her in my arms. She wraps her legs around me and buries her face in my neck. "Shhh, it's okay baby. Gobber will be fine."

"No. It my fault. If Gobby gets hurt it my fault. Daddy will never talk to me if he gets hurt. I not mean it mummy. I was just playing. I never wanted it to fire." She cries, her voice muffled by the tears clogging up her throat.

I frown and place her on the floor, bending down to her eye level. "What do you mean it's your fault Lucy?" I ask clearly. "What were you playing with?"

"I went in Gobby's home to see the fire and I fell over string and the fire collapsed and I ran to get daddy. I'm sorry mummy. Please don't tell daddy. He won't love me anymore mummy. I was bad girl."

"Oh Lucy. How many times have your daddy and I told you not to play with the fire?"

"I'm sorry mummy." She mumbles.

I sigh, "I will tell daddy because he needs to know what caused the fire-"

"No mummy no! Tell him it was Gobby's skivs mummy!"

"Skivvies you mean. And daddy needs to know but he's still going to love you Lucy. Whatever brought that idea into your head? Daddy's made mistakes before and been naughty before and have I or you ever stopped loving him? Of course not."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Daddy loves you more than words can describe. And I'm sure Gobber will be fine."

She sniffs, brushes a hand across her eyes- smudging her tears, and crawls into my open arms.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV:

"Come on Gobber," I whisper, my hand pressing into his shoulder, shaking him- fretfully trying to wake him up. Horst reaches down and takes his wrist.

I glance at him, my eyes wide. "He's alive but his heart beat's weak." I sigh in relief and close my eyes. He's alive. I moved in what felt like a daze after that. We took Gobber to Lily's who announced him stable. I then went back toward the great hall with Toothless. I opened the heavy doors to the sight of Astrid and Lucy practicing battle moves. Only Astrid would think of doing something like that to pass the time. And it only worked with Lucy and herself.

Their heads both snapped up as my metal leg clicked loudly on the floor. A flash of guilt crossed Lucy's face and her eyes followed the patterns on her shoes. I frowned but didn't get the chance to dwell on this strange behaviour before Astrid was crushing me in a hug.

"Whoa!" I said stumbling slightly.

"How is he?" She asked and abruptly pulled back from me. Her wide eyed expression was almost comical.

"He's fine- stable. Lily's looking after him. She thinks he'll be awake by tomorrow. But the fumes have caught his lungs pretty bad and his head injury got the better of him this time. I bet you anything he'll severely deny ever passing out when he wakes up." I say with a smile.

"Maybe but who knows, he might surprise you." She grins and I turn to Lucy.

"Hey half pint," I say, "Thanks for coming to me so quickly. I don't know if we'd have got there in time if it weren't for you." I hold out my arms but she shakes her head and hides behind Astrid's legs. I frown again and shoot a quizzical expression at Astrid.

"Lucy tell daddy what you did." She says.

Lucy bites her lip and peeks out from behind Astrid's legs. "I was playing with the fire in Gobby's house daddy. I'm sorry I didn't mean too!" Tears fill her eyes and I sigh, hating myself for having to be stern with her.

"You know not to play with the fire Lucy- we've told you before. You caused a lot of trouble today Lucy. Gobber could have been killed."

"I know daddy."

"No playing outside with Olaf for a week." I say sternly.

"Yes daddy." She mumbles.

"Come here," I say and let her tumble into my arms. "Promise you won't ever play with the fire again okay?"

"Okay."

I glance at Astrid from behind my daughters flaming hair. We share an understanding look. I certainly never thought raising a child would be as hard as this. Well, I and Astrid's genes put together were bound to cause some trouble. I inwardly grin at this thought.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

"Can you read me a story?" Lucy asks as I pick up her toy Night Fury from the floor and play it in her arms.

"Of course I can. Which one do you want to hear?"

"The one about the Berk Dragon!" She exclaims excitedly.

I grasp the book of her little shelf and settle comfortably on the bed as Hiccup slips into the room.

"Hey girly's," He says seating himself on the other side of Lucy, who giggles. "What you reading?"

"The one about Berk the Dragon!"

"I thought you heard that one last night and the night before!" Hiccup exclaims shaking his head.

"I like it!"

"I can tell."

"And _you've_ never heard this one before because you're _always_ too busy flying Toothless!" She half whines.

"I'll have you know that I only get evenings or night times to fly Toothless- who _does need_ flying I might add- and I need sleep too Missy." He retorts.

"Are we going to read this story or not?" I ask.

They both fall silent.

" _Once upon a time there was an Island."_

"Berk!" Lucy yells.

"Shh!" Hiccup's voice fills the room, "You're ruining the story!"

"No I'm not!"

In response Hiccup tickles her tummy and she giggles and squirms nearly knocking me off the bed.

I huff. "Excuse me! Do you want to hear the story or not?"

They both fall silent again.

" _But this wasn't just an ordinary Island. It had a secret. One that lived deep under the ocean. One that connected this Island to all the other Island across the North Sea. But this Island in particular was very close to the eyes. Or should I say this_ _ **hump**_ _is very close to the eyes."_ I say giving Lucy a little tickle.

She giggles, "Carry on, carry on!"

" _For this Island was part of a Giant. But not just any old Giant: This was a Giant Dragon! And every 1000 years this Giant Dragon would awaken and travel around the world. Then another 1000 years later it would fall back to sleep. For 1000 years for the Giant dragon is just a day for us. And 1000 years for the Giant dragon is just a night for us. Perhaps this Giant Dragon has been alive since the beginning of time._

 _Anyway, many, many years ago a tribe moved to the Island. They lived in the caves deep within the forests of Berk and created a happy and comforting village. They lived for many generations until one day the ground started to shudder. But the people did not know what had caused it. They searched for the answer but it was only met by more shudders- shudders that became more violent every time one struck._

 _It was only a matter of time before the Island was being tossed around in the ocean. Hurriedly, the people climbed into their boats and started to row away. But they did not get every far before Berk started following after them. The Giant beast tossed itself out of the water- the boat flew into the air and crumbled to splinters on the Beast's back. There was only one survivor that day._

 _Berk continued its journey around the world; ripping any civilisation that dared to go near it, or get in its way, apart. 1000 years later the beast fell into a deep sleep. And the people forgot about the Beast. Many had never fallen across its path as the Giant Dragon liked to keep himself well hidden beneath the blue so flipping it off as an old myth was easy. But I know the truth. As did the ancestors before me. Berk will return."_

I closed the book with a dramatic snap.

"Seriously!" Hiccup starts, "How is that a peaceful bedtime story?! It's going to give me nightmares!"

"But it's about a dragon daddy!"

"And it's about people getting killed by dragons! This is not acceptable for a three year old!"

"Then maybe you should spend more time helping us choose a book at story time instead of flying Toothless O' great chief." I say with a smirk.

He glares at me. Or should I say, tries to glare at me but fails at the threatening look.

"Come on Hiccup. Lucy needs her sleep." I say sweetly turning to place the book on the bedside table; Lucinda's complaining flying through one ear and out the other.

"Aww! Mummy please can I stay up! Just five more minutes!"

"Nope!" Hiccup answers, tucking her in and brushing his lips across her forehead. "Night my little dragon trainer."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite little Viking warrior." I add, kissing her myself. I wrap my hand in Hiccups and we slip quietly out the room- dousing the light as we go.

 **Few! Long chapter! I hadn't actually meant to almost kill off Gobber. Lucy was going to set fire to the place a little bit and then Gobber was going to tell her off but… yeah Lucy just decided to take matters into her own hands. Anyway there's an introduction to a normal day on Berk and an introduction to a very cheeky three year old;)**

 **Anyways how was this first chapter? Good? Bad? Horrific? Disgusting?**

 **Don't forget to review!:)**


	2. Chapter 2- Destruction

**Hey guys! First of all I'd like to give a massive THANK YOU to everyone who's added this to their favourites', followed or reviewed this story!:) I once again apologise about all the POV changes. I just love writing in everyone's point of viewX) I hope I made it all clear:) Anyways I don't have much to say today so…**

Chapter 2- Destruction

Hiccup's POV:

"Rise and shine little man," I tease as Gobber's eyelids flutter slightly.

"Shut up," He groans, brushing a hand across his forehead and squinting in the blinding light. I snigger. "Wha' 'appened?" He asks drowsily.

"Well… Lucy toddled into the forge, set it on fire, and you passed out from smoke inhalation and got buried under a burning beam."

"Whoa! Slow down there dragon boy I can't keep up with you!"

"Sorry, sorry!" I say holding my hands up in surrender.

"Wait… so your daughter set fire to my forge!" He blurts out aghast.

"I thought you'd be more worried about the fact she nearly got you killed!" I exclaim.

"But my forge is destroyed?" His horrified face is almost comical.

"Yes Gobber. Your forge is… kind of… dead."

"WHAT!?" I wince at his outburst. "I will kill that little…!"

"Hey! That's my daughter you're talking about!"

"Well your daughter almost got me killed!"

"I thought you were more bothered about your forge!"

"I am! But still!"

I know she did wrong and I will punish her as I see fit. Meanwhile the village will bundle together and help you build a new forge." I say calmly.

"I don't want a _new_ forge! I want my old one back!"

"Well you can't," I say matter of fact.

"But I-"

"Gobber. End of discussion. Your forge has been burnt. My daughter's the culprit. We'll clear the rubble and build a new one. And Lucinda will be punished. But don't forget she is only three!"

"I don't care how old she is! I'll never get that big tooth back that I had hanging on the front. That rotting wood that made the place smell so fresh and woodland-y. It'll all be new and horrible once it's rebuilt…" I sigh and try to block out Gobber's mourning.

"…And I worked so hard on cleaning those beautiful maces and axes. The poor souls. They must be so lonely- all shrivelled up with no one to care for them. Thrown into a waste land of scrap metal. And- wait! Scrap metal! I'll get loads of dirty scrap metal out of it?!" He asks his eyes going from dark and anguished to alight with wonder in a miller second.

"I suppose so yeah…" I say, slightly dazed by his immediate change of character.

"YES! I love your daughter Hiccup! Forget her punishment! That three year old is a stroke of genius! I can't wait to get my hands on that metal and start building again! Meh! The other ones were getting a bit boring anyway! I'm a Viking and we Vikings never fail to get back on our feet and rebuild something! I'll have so much to do! So much work! I can't wait!"

I sit for a moment stunned. "Er… yes! Of course you will. You'll have loads to do. No point mourning over the past, right?"

"You just read my mind Haddock!" Gobber says as he bounds out of bed.

"Whoa! You can't get up yet Gobber! Lily says you need to rest!" I say jumping to my feet and grasping his chunky wrist. "You dislocated your shoulder and almost died from smoke inhalation!"

"Meh! I can't be bothered." And with that he yanks his wrist from my feeble grasp and tumbles from the house wailing his song:

"I've got my axe and I've got my mace

And I love my wife with the ugly face

I'm a Viking through and through!"

"Oh Thor help me," I mumble, running my hand over my face as I stand, watching him in the doorway to Lily's hut.

Then I hear the 'clip clock' of Lily's strange shoes she's named 'pumps'. "I told you to keep him in bed!" She exclaims when she sees Gobber's retreating form.

"Huh… I'm sorry Lily… he's not the easiest person to handle…"

We stare after him for a moment, willing the sounds of him singing to fade. "So I'm guessing he took the forge news well?" Lily asks slowly.

"Not at first but now he seems to have. As soon as he mentioned scrap metal anyways he completely forgot."

"What on Earth is wrong with that Viking?"

"He's just getting old." I smile at her.

"He's as bad as a child," She shakes her head but her lips twitch all the same.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I shuffle toward my door and give a massive yawn before sloppily opening the creaking piece of wood and creeping inside; the moon and stars shining across my back.

"You missed story-time. She's asleep." Astrid says gently from the sofa. "Hard day?" She asks clocking my half vacant expression.

"You could say." I hand up my coat, rub my eyes and flop down on the sofa next to her. "So what you been doing today?"

"The usual: keeping Lu entertained, washing, cooking, cleaning…" She trails off. "I never thought being a house-wife would be this boring."

I nuzzle my face in the nape of her neck. She winces and jerks back. "Thor you're so cold!"

"You going to warm me up then," I ask with a wink.

She rolls her eyes, "You're a nightmare!"

"Well I'm honoured."

She sighs and I relax. Then she suddenly jumps on me- pinning me to the sofa and straddling her legs around my hips. "Is this what you were hoping for?" She asks smirking at my stunned expression. _Thor she is fast_.

I blink. "Er… yeah I think so…"

Astrid POV:

I grin at Hiccup's goofy expression and lean forward kissing his lips gently and running my hands through his soft hair. He shudders at the contact and I smirk. _Oh the effect I have on my husband._

But my victory is short lived when his freezing hands suddenly creep up my top to lie on my waist. I gasp at the cold and he smiles into my lips; deepening the kiss. His tongue brushes across my teeth; trying to fight it's way in. But I keep my teeth clamped shut teasingly. Hiccup growls and his hands tickle further up my waist to my ribs. I giggle and our tongues clash together with the force of a storm. I loose myself in golden treasure chest of the kiss for what could have been hours, or only a few seconds. The perfect sensation drugs my senses.

We both lean back at the same time and gasp for air. I breathe a laugh. "We have to find time to do that more often," I say wrapping my hands around his neck.

"I couldn't agree with you more," He murmurs kissing my collarbone softly. He begins to work his way gently up my neck. And I begin to loose myself again when…

The ground suddenly shudders and I open my eyes wide. "What was that?"

Hiccup frowns. "Probably just a stray Thunderdrum in the caves." He takes my hand. "I wouldn't worry Astrid."

He goes back to kissing the nape of my neck so I relax. I arch my head back- giving him room. His shirt ends up bunched in my fists when his smooth lips wander over to my rosy lips again. Slowly, I rip the shirt in my hands; popping all the buttons off in the process. They clatter to the floor.

"Gods you're violent," Hiccup winks pulling back as his shirt floats to the floor.

"It's not violence- it's communication," I half joke staring down at his toned chest; my breath no longer in my lungs. I curse myself. _Why do I get soppy and breathless every time my husband is shirtless?! Thor I've seen him enough times with no shirt to have gotten used to it!_

"I won't argue with that."

I run my hands over his bare back- feeling his shoulder blades under my light finger tips.

"You're beautiful you know that right?" Hiccup says dreamily.

I just smile. "And you're too fit for your own good."

"Oh don't flatter me!" He teases.

My voice turns serious, "I'll try not to."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV (Three weeks later):

I jerk awake; my eyes shooting open. Astrid stirs next to me; heat radiating off her and warming me through. I could have sworn the ground just moved… After a moment I sigh and ease myself back down into the covers.

"Whaist?" Astrid murmurs from my side.

"Nothing, I just thought I felt… nah it doesn't matter."

"Hmm?"

I settle back down and wrap my arms around her, softly tucking the stray bits of golden hair over her face behind her ears.

My eyes are just fluttering shut when…

BOOM!

I jerk upward again as the doused bedside lantern crashes to the floor, leaking wax and creating sticky puddles over the wooden floor.

Astrid shoots into a sitting position. "What's going on?" Her voice is alert and wide awake.

"The ground's shaking," I say shocked to the core. _Why is the ground shaking? HOW is the ground shaking?_

Just then the door creaks open and the sound of tiny footsteps padding across the wooden floor enter my ears.

"Mummy? Daddy? What's happening?" Lucinda's voice sounds terrified to my ears and shakes as she speaks.

Astrid slips off the bed and picks up Lucinda who curls herself into a ball in her mummy's arms; her eyes wide. "It's okay Lucy," She whispers. Just then the ground gives another violent shake and I leap from my frozen positon in bed, clip on my leg, and pound downstairs.

"Astrid! Get yourself and Lucy to the great hall!" I call after me as the ground moves again and dust falls from the ceiling into my eyes. It stings down my throat causing me to cough and splutter as I throw the front door open. The new wood creaks in protest. But I don't ponder this strange concept.

My eyes burning I rush from the house and into Toothless' pen. His eyes are alert and curious.

"We need to alert everyone Toothless!" I shout climbing on his sleek back. We bound down into the village square and signal with a loop in the sky and three plasma blasts to the Night watchers for the warning horn to sound. It does instantly and sleepy Vikings start dragging themselves toward the great hall.

I land on the ground and urge everyone to get to the Great Hall. "What's going on Hiccup?" Lily asks, her face furrowed in confusion as she rushes up to me.

"I don't know. All I know is that the ground is shaking and it won't be long before the foundations of our houses start to collapse." As if to prove my point the ground trembles again.

Her eyes widen and her face whitens at my words. "But what about all the medical resources?! We wouldn't last a month without them! And I can't carry them all to the Great Hall!"

"If your house breaks I'll contact Amelia and ask for back up stuffs."

Her face turns to stone at the mention of that name but all the same she nods, thanks me and follows the train of people to the great hall.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" I hear Fishlegs' frantic call from behind me. I turn round to spot his eager yet terrified face.

"What is it Fishlegs?" I ask.

"Exactly the question!" He bubbles.

I frown then, "Oh! You mean what's causing the ground to move."

"Exactly. I was thinking a Thunderdrum but it seems too violent."

"Screaming death?" I venture. "It seems a bit too violent for whispering deaths although it is night time and they hate the sunlight."

"I know. I can't understand it." He says frowning; I can almost see the clocks ticking in my friends eyes.

I hear a loud crash and a yelp, my head snaps toward the sound, "I'll be back in a minute Fishlegs," I say distractedly and dragon and trainer fly toward the cause of the sound.

I gasp as we round a corner. A whole house lies in a crumpled heap on the ground. A Viking trapped underneath the rubble. His wife, two children and a pink and blue Zippleback surround him. I look around but there's no one here but me. _At least that means everyone else is heading toward the great hall._

I and Toothless rush over and immediately the wife relaxes and starts babbling to me, "We were just getting out the house to go to the Great Hall when the whole building started to groan and splinter. Bobby pushed us out the way but got his legs stuck under the wreck. Meggie can't lift the wreck off on her own," She says quickly gesturing to the small Zippleback.

"Okay," The man groans beneath the wood, his eyes flickering from one object to the next; signs of passing out. "Stand back. We'll try and lift the rafter. In the meantime fly your kids to the Great Hall. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She nods reluctantly and lifts her children onto Meggie. Gently, they fly off safely.

The ground lurches once more and I grasp tightly onto Toothless to stop me from falling off. The Viking groans again. Toothless grasps the rafter in his strong jaw and we heave upward- lifting the wood from the poor man underneath.

"Chief?" He mumbles. Toothless locks his claws around the man's body.

"Yeah it's me. You're going to be okay. Trust me." We carry the moaning man over the houses. I bite my bottom lip. Houses crashing already? How long is this going to go on for? What's causing this? Is anyone else stranded outside? I survey the area but see no one but shuddering houses; howling in discomfort. Everyone must be in the Great Hall. Thank Odin.

The doors to the Great Hall are wide open- emitting a warm glow. I entre the room smoothly, only to be met by a bunch of confused faces and loud questions.

"What's wrong with Bobby?"

"Is he alright Hiccup?"

"What's going on Chief?"

"What's all the shaking about?"

"Who's the culprit?"

"What happened to him Chief?"

"Is everyone okay Hiccup?"

I ignore them all. I gently drop the man down next to Lily, who immediately gets to work with the few supplies she has, and his family. I then sigh, land Toothless, and run my hands through my auburn hair, wishing wistfully that I could direct these questions at someone else and go and find Astrid.

"All right! All right settle down! Guys! I'm not going to be able to talk unless you settle down! Guys! Settle down please! Excuse me! SHUT UP!"

The hall falls silent. "Thank you! Right, I'm not sure-"

"Daddy daddy look!" Out of the corner of my eye I see Lucy toddling to the doors of the Great Hall behind the sea of anxious faces.

"Not now Lucy!" I say distractedly, "As I was saying, we're not exactly sure yet what could've caused the ground to-"

"Daddy it's Falling!" I don't register the panic in her voice.

"Lucy!" I scold sternly turning back to my top priority. "It could have been a-"

"DADDY HELP!" At these words my eyes snap to the door. Lucy's pointing outside at something, "It's Dishlegs!" She screeches.

Frowning I say, "Lucy what's-"

Then I see it. A large torch leans over and starts to fall. My eyes follow Lucy's finger to the bottom of the pole where Fishlegs is walking as slow as a snail, his head buried in the book of dragons, right across the path of the falling torch. He can't hear us. I doubt he'd look up to see us. And the torch is about to crush him to splinters.

 **Oh no! Fishlegs! Cliff hanger! I'm so nice to you guys;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!:) Don't forget to review!:D What do you guys think is causing the Earth to quake? Oh and at that current time Earthquakes aren't an often occurrence and if there is one it's often small and Vikings dismiss it as a Thunderdrum or other dragon:) Just to clear that up!:D**


	3. Chapter 3- Threads

**I am SO SO SO SORRY for the lateness of this chapter! I've just had so much going on lately and I had a school trip abroad where I had no wifi for 3 days. And when I did it finally get 3G it took AGES to get loaded. And then there were loads of Race to the Edge clips coming out and I was fangirling and squealing over them the Mockingjay part 2 trailer came out.**

 **That was quite a funny story actually because we were on the coach back and were finally in England so I could get 3G. So I go onto U-tube and start watching this trailer. And then I start fangirling like crazy. I was so wound up I was like shaking and had tears streaming down my face and everyone's like "What's wrong Acia?" And I'm just squealing, flapping hands around in the air going, "Omigod, Omigod, oh Thor, oh Odin help me, OMG IT'S AMAZING!" It was kind of embarrassing when I got over the immediate shock… so yeah that's a little sneak peak of my everyday life;)**

 **Anyway enough of my appalling babbling…**

Chapter 3- Threads

Hiccup's POV: 

My heart freezes. Then the torch starts to fall. It slants to one side: Quickening as it plummets toward Fishlegs' toddling form. Meatlug lets out a cry of distress and shoots forward at a rapid pace. A pace so fast for a Gronckle it's like Meatlug's transformed. But even though Meatlug is moving at the speed of light compared to other Gronckles it's obvious she's not going to make it in time. My brain fuses with terror.

Unaware I'm doing so I leap onto Toothless and shoot out the glowing warmth of the Great Hall and into the cold of the outside world. The wide-eyes of the Hooligans never leaving my hurling form. The torch falls quicker now: Speeding toward the ground: Toward Fishlegs. I lean forward: My eyes locked on Fishlegs. The wind rushes in my ears, and the air burns as it blasts into my eyes. The torch groans in pain:

A metre from Fishlegs.

I'm so close. Almost there.

"Come on Toothless! Faster!" I scream into the howling wind. The ground shudders and the torch becomes mere center metres from Fishlegs' oblivious form. He looks up at last second…

"Hiccup wha-" I crash into him and throw him from the torch's path as the whole structure comes plummeting down to the dusty road, landing with a pounding crunch on the convulsing ground. Fishlegs flies a few metres from me and Toothless' rolling form.

A mist of dust blows up around us and I squint to shield my stinging eyes. I slide off Toothless and pound over to Fishlegs who lifts himself shakily from the ground as I approach.

"Fishlegs! Are you alright?" He stares at the torch with a vacant expression.

"I didn't even see it," He says emotionless.

"I know," I can't think of anything else to say.

Meatlug suddenly comes flailing about from the corner of my eye. I leap backward to avoid being pummelled by a crazed Gronckle. She squashes Fishlegs back into the dirt. "Ahh! Meatlug! Aww I love you too girl!" Fishlegs squeals in delight at the attention Meatlug is giving him.

The ground tremors underneath our feet and the buildings creak and groan in chorus. Not wanting any more accidents I say, "Come on let's get back to the great hall."

I climb back onto Toothless and with one click of my foot we're sailing over the quavering Island. Fishlegs follows behind us on a purring (well more like growling nicely) Meatlug.

"Tha…thanks," he stutters after a while, the prospect of what could have happened finally sinking in. "For… saving me."

"No problem. What were you doing with your head buried in that book anyway? I thought everyone was in the hall."

"I was trying to figure out what's causing this entire ground convulsion," He explains as we land in the Great Hall doorway.

I slide off Toothless and I barely get a chance to look at my village's terrified faces before Astrid plummets into my arms; obscuring my eye sight with waves of golden hair. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her close as Ruffnut cockles over into Fishlegs' arms. His eyes widen; startled at first, then he relaxes and hugs her back- closing his eyes softly. I smile.

"I thought for a moment there you were going to get trapped under that… thing!" Astrid says gulping.

"Would I ever put myself in imminent danger just for the sake of it?"

She deadpans.

"Okay… forget I ever said that!"

She shakes her head but her lips twitch up in a smile. Then they're on mine, soft, smooth, perfect. I cup her head and loose myself in my wife's breath-taking kisses.

"Ew! Daddy! Mummy!" We break apart and both breathe a laugh at the face of disgust our daughter is pulling.

I pick her up and swing her round as she squeals delightedly. Putting her down I stare straight into her emerald orbs as the doors boom behind us; shut. "Thank you Lucinda Haddock. Without you I wouldn't have seen Fishlegs and wouldn't have caught him."

"That's okay daddy," She says seriously leaning up and kissing my cheek. I smile as she runs off to join Olaf who's sat at the end of the hall, his head buried in a book.

I wrap my arm around Astrid as we watch Lucy approach Olaf. "I'm guessing she's forgotten her punishment about not playing with Olaf then."

"Oh come on, she's just been woken up by a quaking Earth," She replies.

"I guess… I don't want her to forget though. She can play with Olaf just this once then she can finish her punishment. I know she saved Fishlegs' life but we can't use that as an excuse to get rid of her punishment."

"I know bossy," She says imperatively with a wink.

"Hey! Violent."

"Pft! As I've said a million times it's not violence it's _communication_ ," she says emphasising the 'Communication.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Olaf's POV:

"Boom!" I jerk upward from my book, as a spike of pain rockets up my arm, and turn to a glowing face with emerald eyes and bushes of vibrant red hair; Lu.

"Hey lu!" I say, wincing and rubbing my shoulder.

"Haha! I made you jump!" She yells bouncing up and down in joy.

"Okay you did!" I admit with a shy smile.

I still couldn't believe a girl like Luce played with me. She's two years younger than me, the chief's daughter, so loud and bouncy and I'm just… Olaf. I brush a hand through my golden waves self-consciously. Suddenly the floor shudders, I gasp and my book slips from my hands.

"Silly billy! You dropped it!" Lucy giggles, picks up the book and hands it back to me.

"Thank you Lu."

She leans in close to me and whispers, "do you want to play hide and seek?" Her breathe tickles my ear.

"Yeah!"

She skips off then turns round abruptly, "You count!" she orders.

I don't argue. Her fist can throw one mighty punch for a three year old and besides, I like counting.

I turn and face the wall, "1! 2! 3!"

I hear her squeal in excitement.

"4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10! Coming ready or not!" I shout, turning round to face the hustle bustle of the village; asking questions to each other, gossiping, talking in whispers, crowding round Hiccup asking questions. I blink a few times then narrow my eyes in pursuit! I race across to the tables, obvious hiding places always need checking first. I look under them: nothing. I rush up to the higher- stage like- part of the hall and rush over to the tapestries. I fling the fabric back: nothing. I frown where is she? I bite my lip. Where would be the best place to hide? I glance round at the shouting Vikings in the hall. My eyes drift over the mob covering Hiccup. _Covering_ Hiccup! Of course!

I practically trip over my own legs in my excitement to get there.

I slip between big bulky legs and scary looking axes, hooked through large belt hoops, toward the centre. Hiccup's strong yet tired voice fills my ears.

"For the last time: we're not sure yet! I and Fishlegs will look through the book- if you leave us in peace- and try to figure out what this is."

At last I see the spark of red hair; I toddle over- almost shaking I'm so excited I've figured out her hiding place. Not so clever now is she? Ha! Her face slides into sight, hiding behind her daddy's legs. And her back is too me- yes!

"Got ya!" I scream.

She jumps and yelps in shock then shouts, "Oh no you haven't!" And with that she runs between the legs and disappears back into the mob of Vikings.

"Oh no you don't!" I mumble under my breath jumping after her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

We wait for what feels like an age until the ground stops moving under foot. I groan in half relief as Gobber yanks the hefty doors open. Dawn is just fingering into the sky. The stars look as though a layer of dust has landed on their surfaces. I clutch Hiccup's hand- both ours slippery from the heat of the hall and race of our hearts- place my arm protectively around Lucy; who'd spent the night chasing around and playing with Olaf. They make me dizzy just watching them! And we walk down the loose and cracked stone steps and stare at the waste land that used to be our village.

Houses lay collapsed everywhere, doors creeping from beneath roofs. Our water system runs in deep rivers along the soggy roads; their container now splinters on the cracked ground. The well is a rock pile, to which immediately gets attacked by the villages Gronckle pack. The air is cloudy and clogged up with dust from the shattered village making it hard to breathe. I feel Hiccup's hand tighten within my own and I give it a reassuring squeeze. Dreading the pain he must be feeling right now.

"Wow… we have a lot of repairing to do. It's like back in the days when we had dragon attacks and we'd have five houses gone every couple-la days." Gobber chips in all matter- of- fact. "Now you can show your kids what you had to do every week!"

"Well… we better get to it then. We'll discuss what caused this destruction tomorrow- right now we need to get Berk… back on its legs." Hiccup says, his voice shaking slightly.

"You heard the man! Let's get these buildings fixed!" Gobber shouts and a parade of Vikings make their way down the steps.

"At least everyone's safe," I say softly kissing Hiccup on the cheek as he stares at the destruction. He nods, hardens his face and follows his village.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV (the next day):

I brush my hand across my forehead as the sun blazes across the back of my neck. I can almost hear Astrid screaming at me to cover up my neck as it'll burn but I don't linger on this thought and get back to concentrating on fixing the roof. I felt like part of my heart had been taken away when I'd seen the village. Then I'd felt a slight anger boiling under my surface- whoever- or whatever- was the cause for this would pay the price. No one destroys my village, turns it to mere _splinters_ , and gets away with it.

"Do you need the next one yet daddy?" Lucy asks from down below, looking at me through great big eyes- wide with wonder. Toothless sits a few feet away playing nanny and watching her carefully- making sure she doesn't get into any trouble.

"Erm… I think so missy. I climb halfway down the ladder and take a nail from the box she's holding up carefully in her hands. "Well done Lucy. You're being very good and helpful today."

"Well everyone is looking sad about the shake so I'm trying to not get in anybody's way." She says solemnly.

I breathe a laugh, "Good girl- daddy will play with you after the meeting okay?"

"Okay." She replies.

I smile at her and start to climb back up the rickety ladder. It wobbles and Toothless immediately steadies it with his snout. "Thanks Toothless," I say and start hammering away at our roof again.

"What's the time Lucy?" I call down a few seconds later.

I can hear her little feet toddling over to the clock (that used to stand proud over the doorway but now rests clicking at the house's feet due to the 'shake') and smile again. I was so proud of that creation- even Gobber was impressed! Now it looks weak and vulnerable. A mirror image of Berk right now.

"Erm…The little hand is at the…" She murmurs to herself for a moment then, "eleven and the big one is at the…erm…one…two…" I glance down for a second to see her face screwed up in concentration, "four!" She calls up eventually.

"So can you figure out what that would be then?"

"…five past… no too… Five too four!"

"You got it baby girl!" I say. "And what's happening at four O'clock today?"

"The meeting!"

"Right again Missy," I make my way carefully down the ladder, hoping my stupid metal leg won't slip, and land with a soft click- 'poof' on the ground.

I take her hand and she giggles and skips toward the great hall- dragging me along with her.

We make it to the Great Hall just in time. It's already full of shouting Vikings, gossiping Vikings and a few quiet Vikings-like Fishlegs- who give me and Lucy nods. I spot Astrid at the front. "You go and see mummy, I'll see you after I've spoken to the village okay?"

"Okay daddy!" She kisses me on the cheek, skips across to Astrid and immediately starts babbling away to her. I'm guessing she'll be talking about how she told the time on the clock. I make my way to the front of the hall; Fishlegs gives me a reassuring glance. I nod in thanks- nerves tickling in my stomach a lot more than usual because for the first time… I don't know the answer to their problems. And I'm terrified.

"All right guys settle down!" I shout my voice coming out steady despite the war of confusion raging in my mind.

For the first time they quieten the first time I ask.

"Alright guys I know you're all scared. We don't know yet what caused the 'shake' but I promise you I will find an answer."

"Was it a dragon!?" A farmer calls out.

"Of course it's not! You think the chief would know if it was a dragon? Of course he would! I think it's Drago!"

"Really!?"

"What?"

"Are you sure?"

"It can't be! Hiccup got rid of him for good years ago!"

"Savage then?"

Gasps and squeaks of terror rise in the hall as loud Vikings call over one another.

"Excuse me! They're very good questions…. Erm… guys! Excuse me…" I groan and put my face in my hands. Turning to Gobber I say, "I need a horn of some sort."

"I won't argue with that point," he replies staring at the screaming population of Berk.

I jump as Toothless lets out a mighty roar that shakes the building. I stare at him wide-eyed. As does the rest of the village. He turns to me and attempts a smile. I smile back, "Thank you Toothless."

I clap my hands together, "Right, I don't think it was a dragon unless it was a Bewilderbeast which I don't think it was… it's not really their style to break into Islands. If they want a nest they make it- that way they lay a secure claim to it. A whispering death wouldn't have been able to create that much destruction- plus it would have come into the village as it was dark so we'd have seen it. I think we can say the same goes for the screaming death too. There aren't many other dragons that would be able to cause this much damage-"

"What about a Thunderdrum?" Snotlout asks, "Come on it's pretty obvious. It's exactly what a Thunderdrum would've caused." He says boastfully.

I shake my head and for the millionth time say, "A Thunderdrum couldn't have caused that much damage."

"Maybe it was a group of Thunderdrums. Ever thought of that?" He says sarcastically

"We'd have seen them." I say unaffected.

"Maybe not!" He exclaims.

"Snotlout, Thunderdrums like you to know they're the one who are causing the damage unless they've…" He looks uncertainly at me as a deadly thought dawns in my mind, "Unless…If they've been trained… they could have been told to stay out of sight…"

The village looks to me with nervous eyes.

I bite my lip. "It still doesn't look like the damage a Thunderdrum would have caused. They would have hit us from the caves beneath Berk so…" I trail off- my face creased in thought. Could trained dragons have caused this? "I'm still not convinced it's dragons."

"Well of course you're not. You never blame dragons!" Ruffnut pipes up. Many villagers nod and mutter to each other in agreement.

"No it's not that… we didn't see anything- there's no evidence of anything being hit or blasted over the Island, Fishlegs checked earlier on Meatlug. For one the dragons would have picked up other dragons' scent- which they haven't- and there's no sign of anything being hit by a dragon."

"Maybe the dragons have gone faulty," Tuffnut pipes up.

"Dragons can't go faulty," I scoff.

Vikings raise their eyebrows all over the hall. I sigh, "Look I just don't think… all the evidence says that dragons are not the cause of this. I just know. I think this is part of something bigger. Maybe something none of us have ever seen before. Just trust me. This isn't the work of dragons or people."

"Then who caused it?" Someone calls out.

"I don't know but I assure you I _will_ find out."

"And how will we sleep sound at night in the meantime?"

I bite my lip. "Hope and trust in me."

 **Awwww! Poor Hiccup! Being a chief isn't easy;) Let me know what you thought of this chapter and what you think I could improve. Did I go out of character at all? Did everything make sense? Oh and how are you guys liking Lucy? And Olaf? The new character;) I'll try and get the next chapter up within the next week or two.**

 **Don't forget to review!:D**


	4. Chapter 4- Old times

**Hey guys! Long-time no see huh? … Yeah I'm sorry about that… It's been a while… But I have a valid excuse! Exams… which aren't very nice but my teachers like to plaster them all into the same two weeks and these same two weeks just happen to be the two weeks with weekends I'm away on school trips…**

 **Anyway enough of my boring life! How are you guys? This next two chapters were going to be just one but it was turning out like 6000 words (IKR! I don't think I've ever made a chapter that long in my life!;) So I decided to split it into two!:D**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 4- Old times

Astrid's POV:

"You finished Luce?"

"Yes mummy!"

"Go and put your dirty bowl in the sink then."

"Okay mummy."

I watch Lucinda out the corner of my eye as she toddles over and places her empty bowl in the sink.

"She listens to you so well," My mother says with a smile watching Lucy as she washes her hands then dries them on the towel.

"I trained her well." I reply watching my daughter proudly, a slight smirk on my face as I think how hard a child I would have been. "And she's got Hiccup's patience," I add.

"What are you planning for her birthday?" Mum asks with a wink, shifting her position in the old creaking rocking chair. "I'll make a cake." She adds in a whisper.

"Okay," I whisper back, threading the needle as I loosen up another one of Lucy's outfits. She's growing too fast!

"Why are you whisping?" Lucy asks swinging on my chair with her tiny little fingers and putting her face really close to my face and looking right in my eyes with a cheeky face.

"Oy you! Get down," I say half sternly, flapping her tiny hands away.

"Pft!" She recoils flops down on the floor.

"Because whispering is fun!" Mum says in half-whisper, leaning down to tickle Lucy on the tummy. She giggles.

"I'm going to pay with my Nadder and Fury!" She exclaims suddenly and jumps over to the middle of the main room floor, crouches down on the mat, and starts messing around with her toy Deadly Nadder and Night Fury.

"Okedoke!" Mum responds.

"We're inviting a few people over; you, Olaf, Gobber, Valka, Emily… then I guess it'll be a bit of a party. I'm making some small wooden axes for her to practice with for a present: You know like Uncle Finn taught me."

"She's THREE!" Mum 'angry whispers'.

"Uncle Finn started teaching me when I was two plus she'll be FOUR in a week!"

"Yes and you went around causing mayhem at that age! I don't think Hiccup will let you..." She starts sternly.

"Well I think Hiccup's got some crazy idea for Lu too- you know how he is- but it's still a week away so plenty of time to reason with him."

"More like him reason with you," She mutters.

I huff.

"Yeah… I was thinking of buying her a few books or making some new clothes, anything that would be best?" Mum says quickly, not daring to battle anymore with me.

I smile. "Olaf will probably be buying books and she's got plenty upstairs… I think we'll make the most out of clothes."

She smiles at me knowingly. "Of course. You were a nightmare when you were younger- you grew so fast… It was like you had a continuous growth spurt."

"I wasn't that bad!" I object.

Mum breathes a laugh, "Okay, okay, I surrender."

I smile and give her a hug, nuzzling my face in her neck. "I love you mum."

"I love you too Attie." She replies softly kissing my on the top of my head. "Anyway where did this hug come from? You don't usually go and hug your old mum! Especially not straight after you've huffed at her!"

"I don't know," I say shrinking back, "I guess I'm just feeling a mix of emotions at the moment."

"Oh… That time?" Mum asks.

"No. Actually… wait…huh… I'm a week late…" I say biting my lower lip.

"They sometimes are hon." Mum says standing up oblivious to the worry creeping inside my head. "Anyways I better be off." Her words sound fuzzy in my ears. I've never been late. Not apart from…Lucy. My heart rate speeds up. No. I shake my head. I can't be, can I?

"Don't worry pet. I'm sure you'll come on soon." She pats my head, says goodbye to Lucy with a kiss on the head and disappears out the door. I push the thought to the back of my head and concentrate on Lucy's birthday.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV (one week later):

"MUMMY! DADDY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

I groan and cover my head with my pillow, only to have is yanked off and thrown on the floor milliseconds later. "DAAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYY!" I whine at the scream in my ear. "WAKE UP!"

"Meh…" I open my eyes drowsily to see a bunch of red hair shifting dizzily in front of my face. I blink a few times to clear my vision to reveal bright emerald eyes staring down at me. "Daddy! Wake up you lazy yak! Guess what it is today! Guess guess guess!"

I brush a hand across my face and shift into a sitting position, pulling Lucinda onto my lap as I do so. "Hmmm," I tease. "Snoggletog?"

"No silly! That's AGES away!"

"Okay let me guess again… Thawfest!"

"NO! That was last mont!"

"Okay!" I raise my hands in surrender, "Well… it definitely CAN'T be Lucinda's birthday… I distinctly remember that was last year so it can't be this year too."

She giggles and smacks my shoulder, to which my eyes drift over to Astrid's form: Snuggled down in the bed- pretending to be asleep while _I_ do all the entertaining.

"Yes it is! It's MY birthday daddy!"

I gasp and pretend to be shocked. "But it can't be twice!"

"Yes it can, it can!" She yells excitedly. "It's my _fourth_ birthday!"

"Your fourth birthday?!"

"Yes daddy!"

"Well- you know what birthdays call for?"

"Presents!"

I smile slyly and whisper an idea in her ear. Her eyes light up in mischief when she leans back and we sneak to the bottom of the bed. I grasp hold of the covers, give Lucy the signal, and pull the feather filled sheets from the bed: Leaving Astrid with nothing warm to cuddle up to.

Astrid squeaks in protest then Lucy jumps on her and starts tickling her. "I got you!"

Astrid squeals, a smile lightning up her face. "Oh no you don't little warrior," Astrid yells tickling Lucy back until she's the one squealing and rolling around on the bed. I watch all this with amusement plastered to my face. Finally, both gasping and panting for air, they lie back on the covers and catch their breaths.

"Well that was entertaining," I say with a wink.

Astrid narrows her eyes, "You stole my covers."

"You didn't get up when Lucy called you- you laid all the weight on me."

"I needed my beauty sleep."

"That's not a valid excuse."

"Oh really?"

"Oh stop fighting! I want to open my presents!" Lucy says jumping up and rushing to the door.

"I'll get you back later," Astrid says, her voice turning deep. I smirk and, taking her hand, follow our daughter down the crooked stair case.

Lucinda throws open the curtains in the living room and sits, shaking with excitement, in the middle of the floor waiting for us to give her the presents.

"You are a demanding child Lucinda Haddock," Astrid says dumping a large box in her hands.

Lucy tackles the box to the floor and tears the wrapping paper to shreds. I frown but Astrid just smiles at the mess our daughter is making. "I think we've swapped faces," Astrid whispers to me. I smile at that.

She gasps in wonder and she pulls out four smooth wooden axes. "THANK YOU MUMMY! YAY!" She screeches leaping into Astrid's open arms. I shake my head at her excitement over the miniature killing machines- I've FINALLY agreed to let Lucy have the axes- and hand her my box.

She also tackles it to the ground and rips the wrapping paper to shreds. Her eyes widen as she peers inside and she pulls out a shining armoured skirt. "It's just like mummy's!" She exclaims tugging it over her pyjama bottoms and prancing round the room, axes in hand.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

I sigh in relief as I leave the madness of Gobber, Hiccup, Olaf and Lucy playing a board game Olaf got her. It was becoming increasingly dangerous and competitive. Olaf had created it himself and had called it… Berkoply was it? I have no idea: Something about buying dragons and houses to put on Pieces of land and becoming money- less. Nothing that interests me at the moment.

Lily and my mum follow me into the warm, cosy kitchen minutes later. "Gods one of them is going to break the others arm in a minute!" Lily exclaims aghast.

"Well with Gobber in the house I wouldn't be surprised." I reply shaking my head. Becoming a mother has made me annoyingly mature. I just can't seem to escape it!

"So… Did it come on in the end Astrid?"

"What did?" I ask oblivious.

"I was talking to Lily about how earlier in the week you were worried because you'd been a week late. I'm guessing as you haven't mentioned the subject, it did come on." She says surely.

But I'd tuned out as soon as she'd started speaking. It hadn't come on. Two weeks late. I gulp. No. I can't… I bite my bottom lip.

"Astrid?" Lily asks concerned.

"It… hasn't actually… I'm two weeks late." I say, panic rising in my voice.

"Hey, hey it's alright Astrid. Are you sure you're two weeks late?"

"I think I know when I'm late Lily and I've already said I'm two weeks late." My mother purses her lips as I snap at Lily.

"Okay, well…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV:

I scowl and edge closer to Gobber's face. "500 hundred Gobber. No less!"

"I won't buy it off you for that amount!" Gobber howls.

"Fine by me! I don't need your money anyway!" I yell in his face. I hear a small snigger and a little giggle from my side.

"Oh yes you do!" He spits, his face turning red.

"Oh no I don't!"

"Oh yes you do!"

Out the corner of my eye I see Olaf snort, then cover his mouth quickly and tries to obscure his laughter. This only makes Lucy giggle harder too. I ignore them both and turn back to Gobber. "Don't!"

"Do!"

"DON'T!"

"DO!"

"DON'T!"

"SHUT-UP WILL YOU!" I hear a distinctively feminine and annoyed voice screech from the doorway. Both I and Gobber wince and turn to face Astrid Haddock. She stands, her face glowing, hands on hips glaring at the two of us, her face filled with half annoyance, half amusement.

"I have some news," She declares. Her voice bubbles with excitement and I frown in anticipation. "Hiccup, we're going to need to build an extension."

"Oh not again…" I groan. "I've already told you: use the bathroom for washing. We don't need a 'washroom'. The kitchen sink or the bathtub will do!" I exclaim, sighing and turning back to the brain frazzling board game. _Gods Olaf is clever._

"It's not for the washroom." She says haughtily.

"You can't have a sewing room either." I say in monotone. Lily and Hope, Astrid's mother, snigger. I huff.

"It's not for that either," Astrid says smiling slightly and leaning against the door frame.

"What is it then?" I ask tiredly.

"For the baby of course."

"WHAT!?" I explode leaping from the floor, my mind becoming a tornado of somersaulting questions. Baby? What baby? OMG! Is Astrid pregnant? Is it a boy or girl? PREGNANT? TWO KIDS? Oh my… I'm going to be a daddy to two little people! Is Astrid okay? When did she find out? How did she find out? Well that's obvious. _How did she find out?_ Pah- stupidest question that has ever entered my brain.

"Yes Hiccup we're going to have another baby," She explains to me, in the exact same tone she used when I found out about Lucinda, in a calm and slow voice- like she's talking to a child. How on Earth can she stay calm in these situations!?

"Oh Gods…" I say, gasping for a breath. But my face slides into an easy grin and I turn to Lucy, who's looking at us with slight confusion.

"Hey Lucy guess what?" I say, my insides dancing with excitement.

"Mummy's going to have another baby."

"Correct!" I yell, completely off my rocker.

"Well… Mummy did just say and I can hear and… wahh!" She yelps as I pick her up and twirl her round in circles.

"You're getting a sister!" I yell.

"Oy! It could be a boy!" Astrid says, hands on hips.

"Okay, okay! Just saying it might also be a girl."

"I'm just saying it might _also_ be a boy." She retorts.

"Yeah…" I say failing to come up with a response. I give her a shy grin and place Lucy down. She smiles back, her face lighting up in that smile and turning her eyes to sparkling jets of rainbow colours. I wrap her in my arms and connect our lips. And then my mouth fills once again with her sweet sugary taste.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

"Lucinda Valka Haddock will you settle down!" I shout in a sigh, my eyes growing tired from watching her bouncing form. There was once a time, five minutes ago, when the bed covers were creaseless. Now they're a jumbled mess.

"But I'm not tired!" She protests as she lets out a large yawn, stopping her bed bouncing for one second before continuing with what seems like even more energy before. I groan and lean my head against the back of the rocking chair.

"Are you sure about that?" Hiccup asks her from the bottom of the bed, raising his eyebrows, as he gets jolted around from her vigorous jumping.

"Extra EXTRA sure!" She squeals delightedly.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to leave you and then you'll get no bed time story," Hiccup says, matter of fact, lifting himself off the bed and sauntering over to the door.

"No no no! Don't leave daddy! I want a bed time story!"

"Well you'll have to get into bed then."

"Okay," She immediately throws back her covers and shimmies underneath them with a cute grin.

Hiccup smiles back and settles himself on the, now calm, bottom of the bed. I sigh calmly at the brilliant effect my husband has on children.

"What story do you want tonight?" I ask, rubbing my tummy gently. Hiccup notices this action and smiles at me reassuringly.

"One about when you two were little!" She giggles.

"Okay… how about… have I ever told you about when Mummy and I went behind Grandpa's back?" Hiccup asks her.

"Nope! What happened?" She edges forward so she's closer to Hiccup; her eyes alight with imagination and innocence.

"Well…we were all sixteen years old and we knew that Alvin and the Outcasts were on their way so Grandpa decided to…"

 _Hiccup's POV:_

 _I yawned as I stumbled down to the docks. My father's note asking me to meet him there crunched up in my hands. The morning sunlight blinded me and Toothless as my Father's dark silhouette came into view; barking orders at fellow Vikings as they hammered away at large wooden walls._

" _Hey dad!" I called out, still half asleep._

" _Ah Hiccup! I see you got my note then?" I nodded and yawned again, looking at him through drowsy eyes._

" _I've decided, as chief of Berk, to ground all dragons, in order to keep this village safe should Alvin attack."_

 _I gasped: My tiredness blown away in an instant by my father's horrendous words. "Grounded? All the dragons? Are you serious?"_

" _Deadly serious," He replies solidly._ _"From this point forward, there is a ban on flying, period."_

" _But- But what about patrolling, training?" I ask aghast._

" _What part of "ban on flying" did you not understand, Hiccup?" He says his voice becoming deadly in that way I know he's about to get angry._

" _But that's... That's ridiculous!"_

" _Are you calling your father ridiculous?"_

" _Of course not. I would never call my father ridiculous." I say, "I'm calling my chief ridiculous."_

 _Stoick's face freezes in position- shock- then he says, "Careful, son: You too dragon." He turns away, hinting that the discussion is closed. "Put your backs into it boys!" He yells at his workers._

 _I rack my brain for something that could change his mind. I mean he can't ban dragons! Who woulld protect us? It really is ridiculous! "Dad, Alvin has his own dragons. Changewings, Scauldrons, Whispering Deaths... I saw them with my own eyes." I half beg._

" _Yes. When you were kidnapped and locked up in an Outcast prison," He says undeterred, turning away once more and continuing up the docks._

 _I growl in annoyance, "He's also read The Book of Dragons, He's seen Astrid train a Monstrous Nightmare, and he still has Mildew, who, by the way, I really doubt will hold up under questioning." I say quickly, Mildew's haunted face swimming into my head. He was a disgusting, moody old man, but he'd really proven himself a hero. He actually_ did _care._

" _Hiccup…"_

" _If Alvin learns how to train his dragons and he attacks with them, our only chance is to fight back with ours."_

" _I understand that. But I'm not gonna risk your life or the lives of any of your Dragon Riders. This is my final word."_

 _And with that he turns his back to me and stomps up to the village. I sigh, wishing there was some way to show him that banning dragons is probably the worst thing he could be doing to protect the village right now. Toothless nudges my hand with his nose. "Don't worry bud… I'll get him to change his mind. He'll see." And with that I jump on my saddle and head toward the academy: dreading the riders' reaction when they find out what my dad has ordered._

 _Xxxxxxxxxxxxx_

" _And you agreed? Just like that!?" Astrid exclaims, staring at me in half disgust as I finished telling the guys what my dad had just told me._

" _What other choice did I have? He's the chief, who also happens to be my incredibly overprotective father." I say with a sigh, throwing my hands around._

" _Well, we have to get him to change his mind." Astrid says strongly._

" _Stoick the Vast? Um, good luck with that." Fishlegs points out._

 _Astrid huffs, biting her lower lip as she tries to think of a way to change the chief's mind._

" _So what am I supposed to do with Hookfang if he can't fly?" Snotlout shouts and we all turn to him in unison. Hookfang's tail steams then flames lick across his skin. "You know what happens when is inner warrior is caged up?"_

 _As if to show the consequence Hookfang immediately whacks Snotlout across his bum, sending his sprawling into Astrid's boot. "_ That _is what happens!" He shouts hoarsely from beneath Astrid's boot._

" _Whoa, we should have caged his inner warrior a long time ago. That was awesome!" Tuff exclaims staring at Snotlout with a mischievous light in his eyes._

 _Ruff chuckles manically, "Yeah!"_

 _I sigh at the quickly increasing mayhem in the academy. There was once a time, five seconds ago, when the academy was quiet._ _"Look, I know this is going to be hard, but I'll keep working on my dad, and hopefully he'll change his mind." I say ignoring Ruff and Tuff._

" _And what if he doesn't?" Astrid asks, I sigh and decide to place that comment in the back of my mind._

" _Right then guys let's get on with some non- flying training exercises." I say clapping my hands together._

" _Erm… I don't think there are any 'non-flying training exercises'," Tuff says._

 _I groan._

 **Astrid's having another baby! Astrid's having another baby! Thoughts? Criticism? The rest of Hiccup's story will be told in the next chapter! Have you guys figured out the episode yet?;) Don't forget to review!**

 **Also I just uploaded a short few fluffy one-shots about relationships in Race to The Edge so if you want to check that out it's called 'Love at the Edge' ;P**

 **Acia xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I PROMISE, PROMISE, PROMISE I WILL START UPDATING MORE IN THE SUMMER HOLLS! I've just been so busy lately! I always seem to have so much to do at the end of the school year *sigh* oh well! Here's the next part of Hiccup's story…**

Chapter 5- Live and Let Fly

 _Hiccup POV:_

 _Clang!_

 _A satisfactory sound rebounds around the forge as I hammer away at my new shield. The fresh wood shines in the glowing dusky moon-light. I yelp as Toothless rams me, non-too gently, into the table. "Toothless," I start sternly. He huffs in annoyance and stares longingly at the perfect round moon, lighting up the velvet blackness and turning the sea to liquid silver. I sigh, "You have to relax bud."_

 _In response Toothless roars in my face. "Ew! Toothless okay! Enough! I want to be up there too!" I say turning back to banging my shield as Toothless flops down in the dirt with a huff._

" _Nice to have you back in the shop Hiccup!" I hear Gobber shout as he thunders into the forge. "_ _Usually you and Toothless are out enjoying a beautiful evening flight around the island as this hour." Gobber says smiling obliviously. I glare at him. "Of course, you can't do that anymore, what with the ban on flying and all!" He continues with an upbeat attitude, I narrow my eyes. He clears his throat suddenly, coming to realisation, "Ah… shame about that…" We're both silent for a minute so I bite the inside of my cheek for something to do. "So what are we making?" He asks clearing the awkward atmosphere._

" _What do you think?" I exclaim turning round to show him my shield._

" _All this work for a shield?" Gobber asks frowning._

" _Well," I start, "it's not just a shield." And I beam with pride as I flick the catch. A long, winding rope shoots out, wraps itself perfectly around Gobber's middle and abruptly yanks me forward and smashes my face into his smelly, fat tummy. I pull a face at the revolting smell and I heats up in embarrassment; my face glowing scarlet. I unravel the rope as fast as I can and quickly step away from Gobber's delightful chest. That was meant to pull him closer to me… not the other way round…_

" _Handy," Gobber says awkwardly._

" _If we can't ride dragons, we have to defend ourselves somehow." I say turning back to my bench and diffusing the stiff atmosphere._

" _You know, Hiccup, your father is just doing what's best for you- He's trying to keep you safe." Gobber says kindly._

" _I know," I reply with a sigh. "But the problem is the safest place for me is on Toothless." I glance down at the Night Fury symbol on my shield, wishing once again that my father was more like me. That he understood. Wishing I could've known my mother. Wish I could've spoken to her. If just for a few minutes…_

" _Well, I'll leave you to it. Imagine you'll be here quite a while. Too bad really. Have you seen that moon? Can't imagine a more beautiful night for a flight…" Gobber says looking up at the constellations wistfully. I huff and he starts and looks immediately guilty, again. "I did it again, didn't I?" I nod. He pulls a face and struts out the forge._

 _I sigh for the millionth time that day and look up at the sky. Toothless nudges his nose hard in my ribs. "Ah! I know what you're thinking, and you might as well forget it!" I say. But then we both turn to the sky with the same yearning expression on our faces. You know it wouldn't hurt to just go for a little flight, right? No, I can't. I yank my face away from the moon and close my eyes; dad will kill me. I turn back to the shield but give up after a minute; unable to concentrate with the rebellious plan forming in my head._

 _I look at Toothless and he warbles agreeably. I give a mischievous smile but hesitate before climbing into my saddle. Just a small flight can't hurt me or Toothless. We'll be fine! "Okay bud, but we've got to be_ silent _."_

 _Toothless coos in joy and with one click of my foot we're soaring through the cool and fresh air. I let out a peaceful sigh and grin as the gentle breeze whips through my wavy auburn hair. The usual sense of freedom overcomes me and I glide like a bird through the inky sky. The shadowy clouds swirling through my fingertips as me and Toothless shoot higher into the sky: A black streak in a silver cocoon of freedom._

 _I'm so caught up in myself I barely hear the whooshing sound of wings behind me getting closer. It's only when I hear the slight crow of a nadder I realise I'm being followed. And the only person with the guts or curiosity to follow me in the middle of the night and in the middle of a flying ban, who has a Deadly Nadder, is…_

" _Astrid!" I whisper. "Come on bud! Faster!"_

 _We immediately leave our peaceful gliding behind and shoot toward the sea stacks. I maneuverer Toothless perfectly through the maze of jagged rocks and invisible looming cliff edges, hoping that Astrid doesn't have the skill to follow us. When I can no longer hear the sound of Stormfly's wings I land gently on the edge of a rock and sigh. "Nice flying bud- I think we lost them," I whisper._

" _Think again Hiccup!" I hear a shout from behind me, followed closely by the crunch of claws on the gravelly sea stack._

" _Astrid!" I exclaim, "Why we were just talking about you!"_

 _She doesn't look impressed. I gulp._

" _So I guess this is the part where I ask if your father changed his mind, and you tell me he didn't, and you're going behind his back. Again." She says, her blue eyes sparkling like silver in the darkness._

" _Actually, no… This is the part where I tell you my Dad is wrong." I say._

" _So… he knows."_

" _I didn't say that…" I trail off. "Look, you were there on Outcast Island just like I was. You know what Alvin is capable of."_

" _So you were just gonna fly around at night - all by yourself and say nothing?" She asks, her golden hair blowing across her face in the gentle breeze; my heart speeds up like it does every time I pay attention to her._

" _That was my plan…Look I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble. I was trying to do the right thing… Sort of."_

" _We both know what the right thing is Hiccup," She says. "But if we're gonna ride dragons behind your father's back, we all need to ride dragons behind your father's back."_

 _I smile at her and she nudges Stormfly forward and kisses me softly on the cheek. I grin lopsidedly. She just smiles back then whispers in my ear. "Catch me if you can!" And with that she shoots off into the night sky._

" _Oh no you don't!" I say before blasting into the air._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

"Ew! You two kissed! When you were children!"

"Yup!" I say, smiling at Lucy's horrified expression.

"You two are disgusting!"

"Yes we are," Hiccup reply's with a mischievous grin.

"So what happened next? What did you do?"

"Well. By the end of the next day I know one thing: I wanted to cry."

"But daddies don't cry."

"Well I did then."

Why daddy?"

"Well…"

 _Xxxxxxxxxxxx_

 _Hiccup's POV:_

 _Telling Snotlout:  
_

" _Dragon flight club! I like that! Erm… what is it?" Snotlout asks us._

" _It's a secret dragon flying society. We train at night under the cover of darkness." Astrid explains her voice deadly serious._

" _Sharpening our skills against possible dragon attacks by Alvin." I explain._

" _But remember, it's secret- Nobody can know." Astrid says her face alight with sparks of rebellion._

" _As far as you're concerned it doesn't exist." I add. Then, knowing Snotlout, just to clarify; "There_ is _no dragon flight club."_

 _Snotlout turns to look over at Hookfang questioningly. Hookfang growls angrily from lack of flying and being cooped up, immediately nudges him onto his snout, and then tosses him through the air._

" _AHHHHHHH! HOOKFANG!" Snotlout screams as he plummets toward the Earth. Toothless and Stormfly cock their heads to one side in curiosity at seeing a flying human. Snotlout then shatters an innocent cart to pieces._

 _Me and Astrid wince._

" _He's in!" Snotlout calls weakly from beneath the sharp splinters. I look over at Astrid who pulls a face._

" _Now for the twins…"_

 _xxxxxxxxxxxxx_

" _So listen, this is very, very important:" I start, staring sternly at the twins' mock serious (and hanging upside-down) faces with doubt creeping into my mind. "The first rule of dragon flight club is that there_ is _no dragon fight club."_

 _Tuff somersaults down from the rafters and lands, swaying, in front of me. "Okay, so wait a minute." Tuff starts, I inwardly groan. "Is there a dragon flight club?"_

" _Yes!" Astrid says. "There_ is _a dragon flight club."_

 _With that Ruff flips down and appears in front of my face: The smell of rotting fish oil steaming through my noise. I pull a face. "But he just said there_ is _no dragon flight club."_

" _No…" I groan inwardly again; I should've known this was going to be hard. "The first rule of dragon flight club is that there_ is _no dragon flight club, get it?" I ask hopefully._

" _Absolutely!" My spirits soar. "Not." My spirits tumble into the core of the Earth._

" _Yeah…" Ruff puts a hand on her head, "I think I need to lie down…"_

" _Huh yeah me to!_ _Why don't you guys comes back when you've made up your mind… and you stop saying "is" so much."_

 _They disappear deep into their 'lair' and slam the door shut behind them. I look at Astrid once again._

" _You look like you've lost all hope."_

" _I think I have," I reply in a monotone._

 _xxxxxxxxxxxx_

 _Fishlegs reaction:_

" _Um, I'm not sure this is a good idea. Besides, I hate having to wake her; she's so beautiful when she sleeps."_

 _Meatlug lets out a blast of foul smelling air as if to prove Fishlegs' point. Astrid gags and recoil slightly. But Fishlegs' face breaks out in a smile of pure love. I almost crumple off the window sill and onto the floor in despair._

" _Fishlegs, this is a defining moment in the history of the Berk dragon training academy." I say grasping for something relative to say that will persuade Fishlegs. "Hundreds of years from now, when they're building statues of us in the middle of town, they're going to harken back to the courage it took for all of us to stand up for what we know is right, - regardless of the consequences." I say strongly, making it up as I go along._

" _So… I get a statue?!" Fishlegs squeals._

" _Yes Fishlegs…You get a statue." I deadpan._

 _Xxxxxxxxxx_

Astrid POV:

Lucy giggles and Hiccup's face glows up in a smile. I sigh, remembering that adventure, that particularly HARD adventure. Physically it was great! Mentally I wanted to throw bricks at everyone.

That's when I feel the kick. I gasp and clutch my stomach. Hiccup's eyes snap to my form. "It's okay," I reassure him, "He just kicked."

"He?" Hiccup raises his eyebrows.

I wink. "Is it the baby mummy?" Lucy asks.

"Yes honey, your brother's going to be a feisty one."

Her face lights up in a smile, "When will I meet him mummy?"

"I'm afraid we've got to wait a little while Lu."

"Aww! But I want to meet him now!"

"You will… Just give him time to grow a bit," I smile as she turns back to Hiccup, satisfied with my answer, awaiting the next part of the story.

"Well we met up in the arena at dusk and set off to do some night time training."

"Where did you go?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

" _First stop Changewing Island," I call over my shoulder._

" _Oh YEAH!" Tuffnut shouts over the howling wind, "Stones of good fortune! A lifetime of Good Luck! I CAN'T WAIT to get my hands on one of those…"_

 _I inwardly cry. Don't the twins remember ANYTHING!?_

" _Tuffnut we've been over this!" Astrid half groans. "Those are NOT stones of good fortune, those are dragon eggs!"_

" _And leave them alone, PLEASE," Fishlegs begs. "I really don't want to revisit the changeling debacle!"_

 _I couldn't agree with him more. We fly over the sea of charcoal looking trees, searching for the perfect ones to hide in and study these slithering- snake like- dragons. After a few minutes we find a clump of trees near a clearing; we sit in the trees, Fishlegs hovering on Meatlug, and wait for the wild Changewings to show themselves._

" _How long do we have to wait here for?!" Ruff shouts._

" _SHHH!" Astrid and I whisper/shout._

" _We'll wait for them to pass, and then we can study them." I explain._

" _Ugh!"_

 _Then they come, just like I said, a pack of scarlet Changewings. Their scales glowing in the moonlight, their cream eyes narrowed in danger. I smile- these little, or should I say 'big' guys, can never cease to interest me._

" _Whoa!" Tuff says._

 _I lean forward and spot their prey, a herd of boars toddle along the fluffy grass, not noticing the danger lurking in the shadows behind them._

" _Changewings hunt like wolves, one dragon lures a single boar from the herd," I say as we watch the action unfold before our eyes. I thank Thor for the coverage of the trees. Who knows what would happen if they saw us._

" _Then the other Changewings surround it," Fishlegs says, fascinated._

 _The lone boar squeals in terror- I almost want to go over there and save it but not only would I be putting the gang in danger- I'd also mess up nature. But as it turns out someone else decides to help the boar themselves…_

" _Hey, don't we know that Boar?" Tuff yells over at Ruff. I inwardly cry._

" _Yeah we do! That's Bjorn Boar!" Ruff shouts back._

" _Are they serious?" Astrid asks the air._

" _YOU LEAVE BJORN ALONE!" Tuff screams at the band of Changewings._

 _The Changewings shift uneasily, their eyes narrowing to slits as they sense danger: Sense us. "Clearly they are," I start off shakily as the Changewings turn their heads toward us, and stretch out their wings._

 _Toothless growls in his throat. "You're on your own Bjorn!" Tuff cries before we leap out of our coverage and into the forest: Lime balls of acid sailing through the air, us their target board._

 _One bolt of acid burns a tree in half; I gasp and yank Toothless into a barrel roll as we narrowly avoid the falling timber. Another ball of acid hits a tree in front, but it only singes the outer layer of the wood. I twist my neck round, the Changewings are losing speed! Yes! "Keep your distance!" I cry out, "Their acid is only affective at close range!"_

" _Not very comforting when you're on the slowest dragon!" I hear Fishlegs scream from behind me, his voice wavering in fear. I smile lightly when he mumbles, "I'm sorry, girl, it had to be said."_

" _THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!" Snotlout yelps as a tree branch flies toward him. He avoids it by a nanometre. "AND THEY COME OUT OF NOWHERE!" He adds, his voice climbing in frustration._

 _As if to conclude that Snotlout's correct, two Changewings instantly appear right in front of my vision line. I yelp like Snotlout while Toothless pulls me into a second barrel roll to avoid the acid bombs._

 _I glance up at the empty sky, Snotlout's words tumbling around in my head. How on earth are we supposed to fight something we can't see? "Wait a minute…" I mumble… 'Empty sky'…Oh Gods Hiccup! Get a grip! Of course, how on Earth had I not thought of that before!? I turn toward Fishlegs, excitement in my eyes, "If they don't have anything to camouflage against…"_

"… _It'll take away their advantage!" Fishlegs finishes, a wide grin spreading across his face._

" _Ugh!" Astrid rolls her eyes at our excitement over working out such a simple thing, but nevertheless she orders Stormfly; "Up! Up!"_

 _We shoot into the air and fire downwards. Spikes, flames and violet blasts of power hurtle toward the oncoming Changewings. The blood-red furies squeal and cry out in protest. Almost immediately they run away back into their den._

" _What did I say about the changeling debacle? Was no one listening?!" Fishlegs half squeaks half groans._

 _We all share a look and breathe a laugh. "Gods we really don't ever learn from our mistakes do we?" I say._

" _Nope!" Fishlegs pops the 'p'._

" _Not a chance," Astrid says flicking her bangs from her face, revealing her piercing blue eyes. My heart stops. Again._

" _I do!" Tuff shouts._

" _Yeah!" Ruff agrees._

" _Pft!" Snotlout titters._

 _I just smile; we're the most dysfunctional family EVER. We continue flying for some time until a patch of land appears on the horizon. Toothless moans in protest as we approach the Eel Island; home of the Typhoomerangs. We fly across the Island the dragons squawking in fear._

" _It's okay Stormfly we'll only be here a bit…"_

" _There!" Fishlegs cries, pointing downward at a mammoth sized scorch mark littered on the dusty earth._

 _We land on the soft grass and surround the still smouldering mark._

" _I want a Typhoomerang SO BAD!" Tuff yells, grinning and swaying like a drunk Viking._

" _Much like the rings inside a tree, the scorch mark can tell you the age and thus the size of the Typhoomerang in question." Fishlegs explains, crouching down on the ground next to the mark._

" _It's still warm," I add, my fingers sliding across the patch of burned and crispy grass._

" _Which means it wasn't here too long ago," Astrid says, nervousness appearing in her voice as she glances across at Stormfly._

" _And if you look at the mark, you can tell which way it came from and which way it was headed." Fishlegs continues ignoring me and Astrid's anxious inputs._

" _I know which way it's headed without all that stupid stuff." Snotlout declares._

" _Oh really?" Astrid asks sarcastically, "Where's it going?"_

" _It's not…" Snotlout starts dramatically, pointing upward, "It's coming, at us- RIGHT NOW!"_

 _We all start and twist out heads round to where Snotlout is pointing as a distinctive Typhoomerang roar shakes the ground. "So, uh… anything else we needed to learn?" I ask as we all stand up and race to our patient dragons._

" _Nope!" Ruff yells._

" _We're good!" Tuff adds._

 _We immediately take off into the sky, leaving the Eel eating dragon behind us. The moon shines brightly, turning the sea below to liquid silver. I sigh, my eyes drooping heavily- what a night! Astrid sails up beside me._

" _You look like you're ready to drop down dead!" She exclaims._

 _I breathe a laugh, "I think I am." She leans across and takes my hand. "This is so cool! I never thought I'd be this much of a rebel. Uncle Finn always taught me to go by the rules." She frowns and stares off into the air, her eyes doubting herself._

" _We are following the rules," I say. "Our rules. The rules we know are right."_

 _She smiles, "Yeah I know… I just miss him sometimes. With my dad…" Her breath hitches in her throat, "Leaving at such an early age… Uncle Finn has always been like a dad to me. I just wish he was here now…To see me and be proud of me…"_

 _I squeeze her hand, knowing exactly what it feels like to lose a parent so little. "I wish I had my mum." I state._

" _They're both there," She leans back on Stormfly and looks up at the sky, "in the stars; looking down on us, watching us, guiding us."_

 _I lean back on Toothless' shiny scales and smile, "Yeah… They are…"_

" _Hey Hiccup!" Tuff shouts suddenly._

 _I sigh, "Yes Tuffnut?"_

" _When did your dad join dragon flight club?" I frown at the oddness of this question and sit up in Toothless' saddle.._

" _He…didn't…" I say._

" _Oh… weird… 'Cause he's right there." I follow his hand downward and almost jump out Toothess' saddle._

 _My dad, sitting proudly on Thornado, flies just below us. "What the…? Aw! Quick!" I call out, "Evasive cloud manoeuvres!"_

 _The gang instantly spreads out and soars into the dark, shadowy clouds. I shiver as the water vapour bites at my skin. "We have to stay up here in the clouds until we're right over town!" I call out, my voice getting sucked up by the clouds and wind._

 _Astrid's form appears next to me and I can see the faint outline of Meatlug and the scarlet of Snotlout in front of me. I frown, where are the twins?_

" _Hiccup!" Astrid whispers, urgently looking down. I follow her eye sight to the legs and belly of Barf and Belch. Why on Earth are they upside-down? "What are you two doing?" Astrid voices my thoughts._

" _We can't see in the clouds!" Tuff explains, acting as if we're the dumb ones._

" _Yeah! It's too cloudy!" Ruff says stating the obvious._

" _Oh for the love of Thor… Uh, you guys, if your heads are out of the clouds, my dad can see you."_

" _Er…not going to disagree with you there." Tuffs voice floats upward, rather anxious], from below._

 _I groan, "All right, guys, split up, head home, and please keep the dragons out of sight." I beg, the twins springing instantly to mind._

 _Toothless and I spring off through the foggy clouds and in the distance I hear a faint, "YOU CAN'T ALL GET AWAY!" I wince… Oh Thor we are in BIG trouble! I steer Toothless right through the window and jump off, sliding straight into bed. "This never happened!" I say as Toothless curls up on his rock bed._

 _I close my eyes, listening to the pounding off my heart and the thundering of blood rushing through my ears. My veins crackle with nervous adrenaline. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself, praying to Odin that the other gang members made it back before my dad caught them._

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

"Did they catch any of you!?" Luce yells, practically hanging off the bed in excitement.

"Well… I'm afraid when we went down to the academy to meet up the next evening; a certain someone had been caught out…" Hiccup says sadly.

"Who!?"

"Guess."

"Erm… you!?"

"Me! Of course not! I'm WAY too smart for _anyone_ to catch me." Hiccup jokes.

"Pah! As if!" I say.

"Was it you mummy?" Luce asks timidly.

"Nope!"

"Erm… Uncle Tuffnut and Aunty Ruffnut..."

"Unfortunately not… no someone else payed for, what I suppose, was their mistake."

Luce titters, "Life is so unfair!" I almost burst out laughing at the serious expression on her tiny little freckled face but I hold it in.

"LOUD Uncle Snotlout?"

"Wrong again little Princess." Hiccup smiles.

"Aw! Uncle Fishlegs then!"

"Yup! The next day when we arrived in the academy…"

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 _Hiccup's POV:_

" _He put the screws to me: I thought I was gonna crack, especially when the lights went out.  
But I held firm, because I know the first rule of dragon flight club - is there is no dragon flight club." Fishlegs says satisfied. _

_I feel a burst of pride and positively ignore Tuff's comment: ("Aw great not that again!")_

" _You did great Fishlegs," I say smiling, thanking the Gods that Snotlout wasn't here to ruin Fishlegs' moment of pride._

" _So what are we doing tonight?" Ruff asks._

" _Nothing." I state._

" _That doesn't sound fun at all!" Tuff moans. Ruff sighs and leans on the balls of her hand from atop the wooden jumping stands next to him._

" _Look," I start, "My dad is onto us: It's important that we lay low until this blows over, we need to be_ invisible _."_

 _Before I'd even pronounced the 'ble' or invisible a burst of fire and dragon and Viking shoots into the arena. "HEY! HEY! YOU GUYS!"_

 _I face palm. "Snotlout! What did I tell you? NO DRAGONS!"_

" _Yeah! Even I knew that!" Tuff nods his head contentedly._

 _I sigh. "What's so important anyway?"_

" _Let's just say I may have saved this entire island!" He inspects his fingernails and pauses for dramatic effect. I raise my eyes-brows. "Alvin and the Outcasts are attacking as we speak."_

 _My eyes widen, "Alvin!"_

" _So what do we do now?" Astrid asks._

" _Aw man! Come on we need to go and get my dad!" I rush to the doors._

" _What about being invisible!" Ruff calls after me._

" _Just… forget I ever said that!" I call back as we run into the village, Snotlout riding annoyingly above us._

" _Aw great!" Ruff and Tuff say, clashing together their heads._

 _We grab our dragons and I tumble through the front doors, rush over to my dad and shake him by the shoulder, "Dad! Dad, wake up! Dad!"_

 _His eyes fly open, I grunt as he grabs the front of my shirt, lifts me up and swings his axe toward me with an "ARRRGGHHH!"_

" _DAD! IT'S ME! Please don't chop me…"_

" _Hiccup!? What did I tell you about sneaking up on me while I'm asleep?"_

" _Okay! It's not fun for me either!" I grumble. "But this is an emergency! The Outcasts are sailing towards Berk."_

 _His eyes narrow, "And how would you know that?"_

" _Do I really need to answer that question?" I say, scratching the back of my neck._

" _I told you no flying Hiccup!" He starts angrily._

 _I wince, "Yeah, by the way I've been thinking about that: Doesn't a ban on dragon flying pertain to all dragons, even, oh, let's say a Thunderdrum?"_

 _He stutters as a guilty look crosses his face (jackpot!), "Look… we'll talk about this later." He starts toward the door, "Wake the others: We'll need the full academy." He swings the door open as he comes face to face with Fishlegs and Meatlug._

" _Hey chief!"_

 _Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Astrid's POV:

Lucy giggles for the millionth time that night, sending warm buzzes down my spine. "Then what?"

"We went down and tore those Outcasts apart!" Hiccup says a young sparkle in his eye. "We worked as a team and in the end everything turned out okay. I understood why Grandpa did what he did and he understood why I went behind his back." Hiccup smiles.

"Now I think it's time for you to go to bed missy."

"But I'm not tired!" She protests, yawning.

"Oh I think you are!" I say leaning forward and tucking her in with a kiss on her forehead. She grins cheekily as Hiccup kisses her hair and blows the lantern out.

"Night, night mummy and daddy."

"Night baby girl." Hiccup whispers back.

"See you in the morning my little warrior."

 **Lucy reminds me so much of when I was little… I probably unconsciously made her reflect me so much…XD Anywho how was this chapter? Have you guys liked the fact I wrote one of the episodes as a story? Has it turned out good or bad? Let me know if you found it a bit boring. That was the main thing I was worried about. Anyway we get back on track next chapter with the story:)**

 **See you, hopefully, fingers crossed, next week;)**


	6. Chapter 6-Lightning

**I am more sorry than words can describe! I'm so so sorry this chapter is so late! Literally every single chapter I post is now: sorry this is late I'll try and be quicker next time. I'll hopefully get the next chapter up by the end of August. I just haven't had time. I thought summer would bring lots of time but I've just ended up so busy. Anyways…**

Chapter 6- Lightning

Hiccup's POV:

Blearily, I opened my eyes. It usually took at least ten minutes for me to bribe myself to wake up, then another five to yank myself from the soft cosy covers of my bed. But today was an exception. Today was a day I was actually looking forward to. I hastily threw back the covers, wincing when the cold air bit at my skin, attached my prosthetic, shoved on my clothes and skipped down the stairs.

I smiled as the sight of my little red head came into view- munching on toast- at the table; her chin only just reaching over the top of the wood. I slid up behind Astrid and pecked her behind the ear.

"Hmm… Morning lazy bones." She murmured as she poured us both a cup of tea.

"Aw come on! I bet you've only been up for a while. See!" I pointed at the sun clock that sat on the windowsill. "It's only 7:30! And we're not leaving till eight!"

"I said the latest we're leaving is late. I like walking in the morning. The forest is softer therefore we have to leave earlier."

"Softer? How can a forest be softer?"

"The light's softer and it makes everything look kinder."

"Trees are not kind! They hit people in the face!" I exclaimed, the memory of a tree pelting full force at my face and almost blinding my eyes when I was about 15 springing to mind.

Astrid turns round, re-doing the buttons on my shirt (I totally didn't button them up wrong), and says, "Only if you hit it first."

Pecking me on the nose she places the tea and some more toast on the table. Lucy hastily goes to grab another slice but Astrid flaps her hands away. "You've already had four pieces! You don't want to fill yourself up and not be able to eat anything later." She winks and Lucy giggles excitedly. I smile and lean against the kitchen counter, watching the scene unfold before my eyes.

"Just one more mummy? Please!"

"Only if you go and get dressed, without mummy or daddy's help."

"Otay." Hurriedly, he slides off the chair and pads up the stairs.

I look across at Astrid and we share a knowing smile. I go to give her another kiss but she pushes me roughly away. "Don't you litter me with that disgusting morning breath! Have your breakfast and brush your teeth. Maybe then I'll consider it."

She smiles slyly and saunters toward the staircase, leaving me to scratch the back of my neck retort," It's not that bad!" Some things never change.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

I squeezed my little warriors hand as we wandered through the dense forest. The early morning mist giving the wood a _soft_ glow.

Lucy giggled and skipped along beside me holding both Hiccup and my hands. My other hand rested gently on the slowly growing round bump of my stomach.

"…And then baby bear looked across at his bed and said…"

"There's someone in MY BED!" Lucy finished Hiccup's sentence with a giggle and a hiccup.

Gods she was adorable.

"Indeed he did! And just at that moment Goldilocks stated to stir." Lucy squealed in excitement as Hiccup lowered his voice. "And she opened one eye. Then she opened the other eye." Hiccup's voice grew to a whisper. "And then she saw the three bears…" Lucy gasped, her eyes locked to Hiccup's face. "And she had such a fright! She jumped up in shock and…" He trailed off biting his lip.

"And?" Lucy prompted.

"I can't remember the ending- you'll have to make one up!"

"Awwww! But I can't tell stowys!"

"Of course you can! You've got the largest imagination in the entire village! So big it doesn't all fit in your head. The head houses filled up so your imagination had to travel to the stomach houses!" He pocked Lucy gently in her tummy. Lucy laughed and squealed out loud as they started a tickle fight; sending the birds soaring into the sky with fear. I let Lucy go and leaned against a tree watching the scene unfold before my eyes.

Hiccup did very well considering but in the end he ended up trapped underneath my baby girl; shrieking in protest.

"Gods you too are mad!" I exclaimed. "At this rate we won't reach the meadow till sundown!"

They both looked at me sheepishly. I shook my head and grabbed their hands, dragging them along. "One day you two are going to end up at Lily's with a broken something and you certainly won't get any sympathy from me!"

"Since when did you become responsible?" Hiccup asked mildly.

I narrowed my eyes to slits and he gulped. I smirked, "Since I gave birth to a crazy Read-head!" I joked, picking up Lucy and twirling her around as best I could while pregnant. She giggled- again- and I placed her softly on the lush damp grass beneath our feet.

I looked up and through the trees spotted the burst of colour that could only be the meadow. Hiccup took my hand and we walked, Lucy running ahead of us, into the sea of radiance.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

I yawned and lay back against Hiccup's legs as we watched Lucy chase Toothless and Stormfly through the poppies; my stomach stuffed with chicken sandwiches and pie. His fingers caressed my hair and I stared up at the fluffy clouds. My world felt perfect. Calm, sweet, loving and perfect.

"How about we go to the cliffs edge to watch the sunset- I bet Lu will enjoy that." I heard Hiccup murmur in my ear.

"Okay…" I mumbled sleepily.

"Or we could stay here for a while longer," He kisses me slowly on my lips. I relish the taste and sensation of his soft lips moving in perfect harmony against my own,

I smile into the kiss and whisper, "That sounds good too."

I snuggle down into him and deepen the kiss, my tongue edging past his teeth. A roar of warmth soars through me, sending butterflies swarming round in my stomach. We break apart, our lips popping at the sound. His eyes are filled with a love so strong I feel like swooning but instead I straddle his legs around his hips and peck his nose. Hiccup's eyes drift affectionately toward my little bump; his fingers trace the perfect circle then he leans down and kisses the bump tenderly.

"Let's go and watch the sun set." I whisper.

He smiles, "Lu! You want to go watch the sun set near the cliff!?"

"Ooo! Yay!"

Once the picnic left overs had been gobbled by the dragons, Lucy and Hiccup and everything was all cleared away we set off toward the cliff, my hand tight in Lucy's. I did not want her to fall off that sharp edge and go plummeting to the spiky rock range bellow.

Lucy gasped as we exited the cover of the trees, her wide green eyes taking in the beauty of the sunset. A range of pinks, oranges and reds were splattered across the sky. The sun reflected off the water sending a thousand suns shining into our vision. Hiccup put his arm around me and kissed me softly.

Then history repeated itself.

The ground shook suddenly and I gasped in shock. Lucy cried out as her foot slipped. "No!" I cried out and grabbed Lucy pulling her from the edge of the cliff. But the effort threw me completely off balance and the ground beneath my feet crumbled as another wave of energy crashed through the earth. The sun disappeared below the horizon sending a fog of darkness across the world.

And my breath caught in my throat as I fell toward the crashing sea below me.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Hiccup's POV:

"ASTRID!" I screamed as her golden hair wiped in the wind; her armoured skirt clinking in the suddenly howling wind as she plummeted toward certain death.

Shoving Lucy away from the cliff I leaped onto Toothless and soared after my precious angel. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. Stretching down I caught the tips of her fingers moments before she was blown to pieces. I clenched my teeth as I yanked her onto Toothless' saddle, the sea spray soaking my clothes. Clutching her form we shot back onto the cliff; into safety. Lucy was clutching at Stormfly's legs- her eyes wide. The Deadly Nadder's tail was wrapped securely round my baby.

We landed with a thump and I slide off immediately. Laying Astrid gently onto the floor. Her eyes were closed and she was deathly pale but here chest rose and fell strongly. I sighed but my relief was short lived when another tremor shook the Island.

"Come on Lucy," I said detaching her from the Nadder's clutches and holding her safely in my arms.

"Daddy I'm scared. Why is mummy asleep?"

"Don't you worry, mummy will be awake soon I'm sure," But as I lifted her tender form into the saddle my eyes drifted across the bump. She'd survived things like this before- but would the baby? I thought about earlier when I'd kissed her stomach and felt that tiny fluttering that had filled my chest with warmth. I placed my hand over the bump, closing my eyes and begging for the movement. Nothing.

I exhaled shakily and we set a course for the great hall.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid's POV:

I opened my eyes blearily to the warm light and cackle of noise that could only mean the great hall. I looked upward to see Hiccup's haunted emerald eyes. I moaned, "What happened?"

"You fell off a cliff, I only just caught you." He explained matter of fact, his voice faint like he barely believed that had actually happened.

I gasped the memories flooding back, "Lucy!"

"She's okay, just worried about you and confused. Lily said the baby's fine though- I was scared at first that it had gotten hurt by the fall and scare but heshe's okay."

"Heshe?"

"Temporary name," He explained.

"Oh of course," I smirk.

"There were another few Earthquakes but there so weird. Too strong. Too unlike an Earthquake."

I raised my eyebrows," Er… That makes total sense."

He sighed, "I know… it's just my instincts tell me this is something bigger. Berk never gets Earthquakes- at least not this frequent and they're too strong for any type of dragon."

"It's like that ol' story!" Gobber starts, appearing into my view to my left.

"What story?"

"You know that one about Berk being a massive dragon and destroying everything. I'm sure huge and frequent Earthquakes were how it started." He said thoughtfully. "Aw well! That's just an old myth. I'm going to find some wine! Apparently there are great stocks in the kitchens." He whispered the last part sneakily and tiptoed off into the kitchens.

"Classic Gobber!" I said, shaking my head. I looked over at Hiccup- his eyes were dazed in that way I knew he was in deep thought.

"What is it? Hiccup!"

"Ugh what?"

"What're you thinking about?"

"Just that story Gobber was talking about."

"Oh relax Hiccup! It's an old legend- it doesn't exist. I'm sure this is just a few counter acting Earthquakes. We'll have forgotten all about it by the end of summer." I explained confidently but Hiccup didn't seem too convinced.

"I don't think we'll be forgetting the whole village being shaken apart _again_ any time soon."

I pushed myself up and kissed him softly, "We'll be okay."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy's POV: 

I sighed and leaned my head in my hands. This was so boring! No one was telling me ANYTHING! I looked across at Olaf but he was busy with his family.

"What's on your mind pet?" Granny asked me.

"Stuff." I mumbled swinging my feet back and forth.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Mummy and daddy and the baby."

"Hmm… you worried about them?" She asked me kindly, her kind green eyes studying me; matching my eyes.

I nod, "Why is mummy sleeping and why is the ground shaking so much?"

"I don't know pet- I honestly don't know."

"Mom," I look up to see daddy. "She's awake and the baby's okay."

Granny's shoulders relax instantly.

"Daddy!" I squeal, running up so he can pick me up in his strong arms. "Is mummy okay?"

"Yeah mummy's fine just resting."

"Hurray!" I yell.

Daddy smiles and places me down, "I'll be back in a minute- I just want to speak with the village."

"Okay."

Daddy step-click's his way to the platform and starts one of his boring speeches about clearing up the village. I sigh and crawl into Granny's warm and safe arms. She kisses me on the forehead and rocks me back and forth.

"You'll be okay sweetie. Your daddy will sort all of this out. My son's done it before- he can do it again." I barely hear the last words before the fluffy light of dreams consumes my conscience.

 **Sorry this was a short chapter guys:/ I'll try and get the next one up soon. How was this chapter? Good? Bad? Don't forget to review!:)**


	7. Chapter 7- Myth

**Hey guys! How's everyone's summer going? Is everyone having fun in the sun?;)**

Chapter 7- Myth

Hiccup's POV:

I wake up in a sweat. The sheets tangled round my legs, my heart pounding in my chest; Dagur's cold green eyes watching me in the shadows. I gulped. _Dagur's dead_ , I tell myself, _he's not destroying Berk. He's gone._ I take a few calming breaths and tried to settle down again, not wanting to cause a fuss and end up waking Astrid. But after a few minutes it becomes clear that I'm not going back to sleep tonight. I sigh and slip silently out of bed, attaching my prosthetic smoothly. I tiptoe across the hall to Lucy and check she's okay, half expecting her bed to be empty and Savage holding a knife to her throat but when I crack open the door she's breathing soundly, safe. Her red hair falling across her pillow like spilled juice.

My eyes fall upon her book shelf and narrow in particular on the book 'Berk's dragon'. I shuffle quietly across the room and pick the book from the shelf; a crease appearing in my forehead.

Glancing across at Lucy I make up my mind and slip down the stairs. It's then that I see the emerald eyes appearing from the darkness. I yelp and stumble backwards but then Toothless' form reveals itself in the moonlight slipping through the window. I sigh in relief and scratch his head. Toothless nuzzles his head into my chest in response and coos happily.

"Yeah, yeah- attention seeker." I mumble, sitting down in the armchair and opening the book. Toothless huffs and flops down on the floor. I grasp a lantern off the wall and hold it out for Toothless to light. In response he blows smoke out his nostrils and turns his head away. "Sorry for calling you an attention seeker," I sigh.

I could have sworn that dragon smirked as he lit the lantern. I open the well-read book and start to read…

 _Once upon a time there was an Island. But this wasn't just an ordinary Island. It had a secret. One that lived deep under the ocean. One that connected this Island to all the other Islands across the North Sea. But this Island in particular was very close to the eyes. Or should I say this_ _ **hump**_ _is very close to the eyes. For this Island was part of a Giant. But not just any old Giant: This was a Giant Dragon! And every 1000 years this Giant Dragon would awaken and travel around the world. Then another 1000 years later it would fall back to sleep. For 1000 years for the Giant dragon is just a day for us. And 1000 years for the Giant dragon is just a night for us. Perhaps this Giant Dragon has been alive since the beginning of time._

 _Anyway, many, many years ago a tribe moved to the Island. They lived in the caves deep within the forests of Berk and created a happy and comforting village. They lived for many generations until one day the ground started to shudder. But the people did not know what had caused it. They searched for the answer but it was only met by more shudders- shudders that became more violent every time one struck._

I bite my lower lip. This is exactly what keeps happening. I close my eyes- this can't be real…but can I rule it out as an answer? Gobber's words echo in my head; _it's like that ol' story: You know that one about Berk being a massive dragon and destroying everything. I'm sure huge and frequent Earthquakes were how it started._ I sigh and Toothless licks my hand comfortingly. "We'll figure this out bud… We always do. The village is trusting in us and we can't let them down." I turn back to the book…

 _It was only a matter of time before the Island was being tossed around in the ocean. Hurriedly, the people climbed into their boats and started to row away. But they did not get every far before Berk started following after them. The Giant beast tossed itself out of the water- the boat flew into the air and crumbled to splinters on the Beast's back. There was only one survivor that day._

 _Berk continued its journey around the world; ripping any civilisation that dared to go near it, or get in its way, apart. 1000 years later the beast fell into a deep sleep. And the people forgot about the Beast. Many had never fallen across its path as the Giant Dragon liked to keep himself well hidden beneath the blue so flipping it off as an old myth was easy. But I know the truth. As did the ancestors before me. Berk will return._

I flip to the author's information page, seeking more information. _Wrinkly Baggy has written many stories in his life time. Many claimed to be old myths. He was 88 years old when he wrote Berk's dragon and lived his life with his daughter on the Island of Berk. He said this story is true and urged people to believe him. His family moved to The Peaceable Country a few years after his death. His Granddaughter still lives there and fully supports his tales of monsters._

I gasp. He lived on Berk! I sigh, it's a shame he died. He must have been a pretty amazing guy. I lean back against the soft sofa- my mind whirring. I _have_ to find out more information. What if this is the answer to the Earthquakes. It's not impossible. I look down at the book in my hands. _His Granddaughter still lives there._ Maybe she'll know something. The Peaceable Country isn't far, only half a day's flight and they're… well… _peaceful_. I'm sure they'd welcome me.

"Something tells me this book isn't fiction bud." I say turning to Toothless. "Maybe out ancestors did pass it as a myth. I thought training a dragon was impossible but I was wrong. So maybe this story will prove me wrong as well."

xxxxxxxxxxx

It doesn't feel like long after before I hear Astrid marching down the stairs in her light morning mood.

"There you are!" She exclaims as her eyes fall upon my form, staring into the fire. "I thought I'd find you here." She perches on the side of the armchair. "What's up?"

"I need to find the author's Granddaughter and speak to her. She lives in the Peaceful Country; I was thinking I could go there today and find out more about this myth. There has to be more! I think this may be the answer we're looking for," I say in a rush, stumbling over the words in my hurry to tell someone.

"Whoa! Slow down there. You want to go where? Who's Granddaughter? Actually just start at the beginning." She says, staring intently at me.

So I explain my theory and that I need to see this woman.

"She'll be old and worn by now Hiccup. She might not even make any sense. We need you here and besides the story isn't even real." She half begs.

"Yeah but what if it is? It's the only theory that makes total sense. Fishlegs and I scoured the Book of Dragons- there is nothing that could cause this."

"A Green death perhaps?" She tries.

"We'd have seen it and the dragons would have sensed it."

"Maybe it's just Earthquakes!"

"And what if it isn't?" I repeat, "I just need to know what she knows. Maybe then I can figure it out. It's just the only thing that makes sense."

"She'll only tell you it's true."

"Maybe she'll give more of a convincing statement than the story." Astrid sighs and looks half pityingly at me. "What?"

"So after she's told you it's true- what then?"

"I find it."

She frowns, "You what?"

"I make some sort of breathing device, go under the ocean and find it." I say, ideas popping into my head ten a second.

"That's impossible."

"Really? I believe training a dragon was impossible until I proved otherwise."

She gives a tight smile and I know I've beaten her- but only just. "Fine, I'll watch the village for the day- you better get going if you want to speak to her and get home before night fall."

I grin and kiss her chastely. "I love you, you're the best person in the world, I…"

"Yeah, yeah, stop you're flattering and get on with it." She says with a wink.

I dash upstairs and yank on travelling clothes, grab my satchel, fill it with a bottle of water and go to rush out the door.

"Ahem," I pause at the sound of Astrid's voice and turn round, my hand hovering over the door handle. "Are you forgetting something?" She asks holding up a bag of sandwiches. I smile sheepishly and place them gently in my satchel.

"I love you. And stay safe with that baby." I place my hand on the warm bump, feeling the tiny tug inside. She pulls my head down gently and presses her lips to mine. My body goes slack and I kiss her back- relishing the softness of her lips. We pull back a fraction and stare at one another for a moment.

"You be safe too."

"I promise," I whisper. Then I slip out the door, stumble down the steps and climb onto Toothless. "I'll see you at dusk."

"You better not be late!"

"I'll try," I bite my lip and we shoot into the air. The pale colours of dawn washing our tiredness away.

We were going to find Wrinkly's Granddaughter. We were going to find out about the myth.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katlin, the chief of the Peaceable Country welcomed me warmly when I arrived. I was surprised by all the smiles and bright happy faces. There wasn't a fight in sight. No running, crazy Vikings trying to kill one another with bludgeons or screaming voices. I scratched the back of my neck nervously, _Gods I am a really bad peace keeper when it comes to Viking squabbles._

"So… I'm guessing you're here to see Miya Baggy, Wrinkly's Granddaughter?"

I stare at her- eyes wide. "Yeah, yeah I am. How did you know?"

"I guessed. We've had loads of people wanting to see her. I'm guessing you've also had the crazy Earthquakes with no explanation?" She asks as we walk across the lush grass toward Miya's house.

"Yup!" I say, pursing my lips. "So how many Islands have these…tremors, hit?"

"A lot from what we've heard."

"Sounds like the myth." I say, "There's really no other explanation."

She nods as we approach a smile cottage aside from the town centre. Flowers litter the garden and a bird bath stands next to the porch. I take a deep breath of the sweet smelling flowers and smile.

"I'll leave you to it," Katlin says with a wink as she turns round and heads back up the garden path. I bite my lip then nock three times on the door.

Within seconds an elderly woman appears, her hair the colour of snow, her eyes a deep violet. She smiles kindly, wrinkles appearing in her old and weathered skin. "Good morning Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Please, come in."

I hesitate, shocked at how she knew my name, before stepping into the low ceiling house.

"How… How do you know who-"

"Dragon conquer, Great Peacekeeper, Dragon Whisperer, I could recognize your face anywhere Hiccup, I was rather good friends with your mother, Valka, as well. I'm so glad you two found one another." Her voice was soft and calming, sort of mystical. It soothed me as she led me into the living room. A cosy room with a flickering fire, two windows stood as each end of the room. The walls were painted with an array of flowers. The intricate design was rather startling. "Please sit," She said pointing to one of three armchairs that made a circle around a little coffee table. I was struck dumb by how unlike a Viking house this was. A bundle of knitting, dust clamped around each entwined thread sat untouched in the corner on a small wooden stool.

"Thank you," I said sitting down.

"So I guess you're here to ask about my old poppy huh?"

"Erm yes, Wrinkly. His book about Berk and the dragon…?"

"It's true. The story was passed down generation from generation to my old Poppy who decided to write the book to place a mark of this dragon on the world. All the natural evidence disappeared a few centuries ago. That's why no one thinks it's true. But it is and we have the evidence right now. He's waking up and Berk is in most danger."

"Why is Berk in most danger?" I ask with a frown. "And how do we know the dragon is real?"

"Because the beasts head is Berk. Our Island, the Peaceable Country, is a mere hump on his back but Berk is the actual head. If you take a look at a map of the archipelago you can see the shape and size of the beast. It has seven humps- seven Islands, a head and a tale. The head is Berk and the Tale is an uninhabited Island to the western archipelago.

"Wow, you've really done your research." I say, processing the information.

She smiles again, "Thank you. And isn't the earthquakes enough evidence to show you the beast is real?"

"It is for me but not for everyone." I explain.

She nods.

"So… how do we stop it?" I ask.

"We can't," Her face goes grim and she turns to look out her window, "It's impossible. The beast is too strong and can't be put back to sleep."

"But if a day is one thousand years and a night is one thousand years couldn't we just find a way to send it back to sleep for a while or… knock it on the head. I know when I hit my head and fell unconscious after my battle with the Green Death I was out for a few weeks. That would be like… twenty one thousand years. Humans might not even be alive then!" I say, clinging onto hope.

"And how do you suppose we knock unconscious a beast with a head the size of an Island?" She says, her voice growing hard for once.

"I…I don't know." I knew the situation was near hopeless but I couldn't just give up, could I? I wouldn't let my village suffer. "Firstly we'd have to somehow get under water…" I bite my lip, my brow furrowing as I thought, "We'd need to train a Scauldron and swim deep and make some sort of gear that will allow us to breathe under- water… Like a tube that leads to air... Then maybe we can give it some sort of potion or… Like dragon nip but not dragon nip…"

A small light suddenly enters the old woman's eyes, "Blue oleander? I know they can be pretty powerful to sea creatures."

"Yes but that's poison not…" I trail off. "Maybe they'll be something in the book of dragons but firstly I have to know if this is all true. Like you said the earthquakes should be enough evidence but it just isn't. We humans are always in denial. I need to swim down there and see for myself with a team. Then if we find the beast we can let everyone know it's true and figure out how to send it back to sleep." I nod my head and stand up. "Thank you for your help Miya."

She looks slightly startled at my quick arrival and leaving times. "You're very welcome and good luck." She smiles and leads me to the door. "Your plan of sending it back to sleep might just work- as long as you figure out _how_ to send it back to sleep."

"I know," I say my hand twisting the door handle, "That's the one problem." I swing open the door and feast my eyes on my lazy night fury. Toothless is lying on his back, the sun bathing his skin in her little garden.

I sigh and roll my eyes at Toothless' floppy form as the door shuts behind me, "Come on buddy, let's go home." He snorts in resent at having to leave his little rest. Puffing out clouds of smoke he allows me to climb onto his saddle. "Let's go and find out if this beast is real after all."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Almost home buddy," I say as we near Berk. My eyes wander round the hills and forest until they reach the docks. I gasp in shock, fear squeezing my heart. A band of ships swarm the docks. But not just any old ships. Ships with a certain flag…

A flag with the symbol of a Skrill painted in their centre.

My first thought is Dagur but then I remind myself that he's dead. He can't hurt anyone I love anymore. Which means that Dagur's sister, Amelia, is on my shore with her fleet of ships. But why?

"Come on buddy," We swoop down toward Berk.

The streets are empty but it's impossible to miss the babble of screaming voices echoing from the great hall. We blast the doors and they open with a bang.

Silence.

My eyes quickly take in everyone. Astrid and Amelia, neck to neck, standing on the raised platform. Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs, stand behind Astrid. A group of Amelia's bulky berserkers back up their chief. The village stands in the middle, their fists midway through punching the air. Everyone's eyes are on me.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing on my Island?" I ask Amelia, striding toward the front, villagers and Berserkers shuffling back and giving me a straight path to the front.

"I came to speak with you but upon arriving was harassed by your pathetic wife." Amelia spits, her head held high.

Astrid's fists clench, "You're one to talk."

Amelia's head whips back to Astrid, "Oh really? And how do you explain tha-"

"What did you want to speak with me about?" I interrupt before the hall erupts in chaos again.

Amelia's cold green eyes narrow, "What do you think?"

"Earthquakes."

"Precisely. I'm guessing from the total destruction of your village you to have been caught up in the same type of ground tremors we've all been in."

"Yes, I've just been to speak with the Granddaughter of Wrinkly Baggy- the author of that book about Berk and all the other Island's in the archipelago being a massive dragon- and I think it's true."

She lets out a vicious, sneering, cackle. "You really believe that do you? That Berk is the head of some menacing beast? Of course." She rolls her eyes. "But that's not what I came here to talk about. I want to make a deal with you; it seems we'll need each other's help if these quakes continue. I want to become allies."

"We already have a peace treaty."

"A peace treaty isn't the same as becoming full blown allies Hiccup. I would have thought you of all people would know that."

"Oh I do know that. I'm just not interested. We're at peace but I'm not interested in trading with you or anything else for that matter."

"I saved your life! I defeated Dagur and this is how you repay me!?" She screeches.

I keep my face blank of expression. "You did that for yourself. You had no interest in helping me. And I have no interest in helping you so the answer to your question is no. I do not want to be your ally. We have a civil peace treaty and that's as far as it will stretch."

She snarls, "So be it."

She flicks her black hair from her face and stalks past me and Toothless, who bares his teeth, and out the hall. I turn to Gobber, "Make sure they leave the Island."

He nods in response and follows the berserkers from the hall. The doors shut with a clang and I stride up toward the raised platform. "Well that was interesting."

Low chuckle rises from my Vikings. "Are you okay?" I ask Astrid.

"I'm fine," She replies stiffly, still glaring at the doors.

"Okay, Right well now that Amelia is out of the way I can speak to you about the real problem. The only conclusion I can come to about the Earthquake problem is that the myth is true."

Protests instantly rise from the village.

"It's a story!"

"It's not real!"

"That's insane! There's no such thing as a dragon that size!"

People nod in agreement to these comments.

"I know it sounds crazy but it's the only answer that fits the criteria. And we can check if it's true too. I've decided to pick a few people to come with me down under the ocean and check. If Berk is the head in the legend then we'll be able to see if it's true. We'll be able to see whether it has eyes or a nose or mouth. We'll know then and once we know we can try to figure out how to stop it."

"And how are you going to breathe down there?" A gruff man shouts up.

"I think I'll be able to make some sort of breathing device that'll give us time to get under and check. Even if it's not true at least we can rule that answer off the list. But we can't just sit here and say the legend isn't possible when we've no other answer."

The crowd start to nod their heads at one another, I sigh in relief as Gobber comes through the doors, "They've left."

"Thanks Gobber," I turn back to the crowd, "I want to call a council meeting tomorrow at dawn." The council members nod respectfully. "That's all, you're dismissed."

A loud shuffle starts as everyone moves toward the door. "Where's Lucy?" I ask Astrid.

"With our mums at home."

I relax and take her hand, "We'll talk about everything tomorrow but right now all I want to do is sleep."

"I second that," She smiles and kisses me softly. "Let's go home to our baby."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day I'm up early and in the hall waiting just as the sun is peaking over the horizon. I have to wait at least five minutes before Snotlout strides in, an axe over his shoulder.

"I've been cutting down fire wood for my dad," He explains, "he keeps complaining that his joints are getting old," Snotlout rolls his eyes and I grimace sympathetically.

"Well, all you have to do is find a girl and complain that you're too busy looking after her to deal with your dad."

"If only I had a girlfriend." He slumps in the chair to my left.

"You'll find someone."

"I just wish Heather was here. She always felt so right. Ruff was good but it never really worked and now she has Fish anyway. Which is fine," He adds hurriedly, "I'm happy for them. It's just…"

"I know; I felt the same when I was fifteen."

He deadpans, "Yeah but that's like fifteen. We're like twenty five."

"Some things take time."

He mimics Toothless' huff in response. Then the doors creak open:

"Hey guys!" Fishlegs squeaks as he rushes in. "I have news!"

"And what's that?" I ask smiling at his excitement.

"I'm going to do it I'm finally going to ask her!"

"Ask who what?" Snotlout says, raising his eyebrows.

"Ask Ruffy to marry me!" His face breaks out in a wide grin and a warm feeling fills my stomach- momentarily washing away my worry about Berk.

"Whoop whoop! Way to go Fishlegs!" I say giving him a hug.

Snotlout pats him on the back, "I'm happy for you Fishy."

"Thanks guys," His bites his fingers as he sits down next to Snotlout. "I'm so nervous but so excited at the same time! What if she says no? What if she says yes?"

I laugh, "Don't worry; I felt exactly the same with Astrid. It's scary because it's new and different. But I'm sure she'll say yes and then…" I trail off winking at him.

"Babies!" Fishlegs squeals.

"Oh Thor…" Snotlout face palms. "Why would you guys even want kids? They're smelly and disgusting and whinny and-"

"Hey! Are you calling my daughter smelly and whinny?" I ask narrowing my eyes at him.

Snotlout gulps, "Of course not! I'm just saying that some children are slightly unclean and..."

"You're one to talk." I retort.

"Hey! Are you implying something there?"

"I think babies are beautiful!" Fishlegs butts in staring dreamily at the table. "They're so cute and fuzzy and-"

"Fuzzy?" Snotlout asks, his look of utter confusion making me snort with laughter.

"You know their hair is all soft and kind of-" Fish starts trying to explain.

"Aw save it!" Snotlout replies.

I laugh and shake my head: There's nothing better than friendship.

It's not long before the room fills up with council members. Astrid slips in just before I start the meeting, "Lucy's with Valka." She says, pecking me on the lips and sitting at my right hand.

I start to once again explain my plan of going under water and then I get onto how we're going to breathe. "I was thinking we could make large metal tanks- big enough to hold a large enough air supply to keep us going but not enough to weigh us down so much that we sink." I explain seriously. "We then create a small tube that we can put in our mouths in order to breathe. In this tube we'll make a sort of barrier so when we pull down a lever the air is released and when we push it back up the air becomes trapped again inside the tank, make sense?"

Everyone nods and I smile in relief. "Now we won't be able to swim down there- it'll drain too much of our energy so we'll need to train a Scauldron to get us down there quickly. Then all we need is a team of about five to go down there and see if this myth is a real threat or just a story. I'll need some volunteers."

"I'll go," Astrid says.

"No." I reply sharply turning to look at her.

"Why not?"

"You're two months pregnant!" I explain.

"And you've only got one leg."

"It's different! Plus who will look after Lucy?" I ask.

"Our parents."

"It's still a no." I turn back to the council, who are watching us with cautious facial expressions.

"Hiccup I'll be fine!" Astrid urges.

I turn back to face her, "I'm not putting you or that baby in danger."

"It's my baby too! And my life! I think I can decide what to do or not."

I clench my teeth, "Astrid I said no."

"You can't stop me."

"Try me."

"I will."

We glare at each other for a minute and I swear you could have heard a pin drop.

"Why do stubborn people always end up together?" I hear Gobber murmur.

"I am not sitting idly by when you risk your life under the sea." Astrid says, ignoring Gobber's statement.

"And I'm not risking the baby's life. Plus Lucy needs you."

"Lucy needs you too! I'm not the only parent she has! Furthermore Lucy has our parents and the baby will be fine. I need to make sure you're okay."

"No one's going to win this argument are they?" I say.

"Nope!" She agrees.

"I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree."

"I'm still going."

"No you're not." I turn back to the table of amused smiles with a huff, "I need five volunteers."

Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins all put their hands up.

"Looks like you need a fifth Mr Haddock." Astrid says with a sly grin.

"I am the fifth," I reply.

The table stiffens and everyone looks at one another- sending eyes contact messages about the chief and his wife.

"Aw let 'er go Hiccup. If there's one thing we all know about Astrid is that she can take care of herself." Gobber's says.

I purse my lips, "Herself and the baby though?" No one speaks, "Fine. Just this once."

Astrid grins and wraps her arms around my waste. "I love you Hiccup."

I huff again, "I love you too."

The council chuckles as the doors open and Lucy bounces in, Valka behind her. "I heard you all laughing and figured you'd finished up." Valka explains.

The table smiles as Lucy runs up to us, "Mummy! Daddy!"

"Hey my little princess!" I say twirling her around in my arms.

She suddenly giggles and looks at the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs, "I have a question!"

"Oooo! Yay! I Loooove questions!" Tuff says excitedly.

Ruff punches his shoulder.

"What's the first rule of dragon flight club?" Lucy asks.

My friend's faces fall.

"Oh Gods! HICCUP YOU IDIOT!" Snotlout yells his eyes wide.

"No! HICCUP WHY WOULD YOU TELL HER THAT?!" Ruffnut screams over Snotlout.

"There is not dragon flight club." Fishlegs answers calmly.

"AHHH THE PAIN!" Tuffnut spirals to the floor and collapses.

"Well done Uncle Fishlegs you got the question right." Lucy smiles up at my friends and I smother a laugh with my hand.

 **I'll try and get ze next chapter up by September!;) Don't forget to review!:D**


	8. Hey guys

Hey guys!

I just want to apologise for the fact I've not been uploading much lately. At the moment I can't really use schoolwork as an excuse as it's been the summer holidays but every time I finish a new chapter I keep running into writers block. I know what I want to write and I know what happens next but I just don't know how to write it… Does that even make any sense?;)

I'm not going to force myself to write or try and rush to get things uploaded 'cause then it's not really to the best of my ability and that's not fair on you guys. I'm just going to upload when I can and when I get ideas. Also I'm starting my GCSE courses and need to concentrate on school work over the next few years.

Thanks for reading, understanding and being awesome!:D


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